Do you like delicious food with big flavor? Then the Italian Fest in Collinsville, Illinois is the place for you! The festival is happening this Friday and Saturday, September 20 and 21, on Main Street in uptown Collinsville.
For the past 36 years, Collinsville has been celebrating the Italian heritage the city is built on. The Collinsville Mayor took some time to talk with us about the town’s history. He explains that after WWII when Italians relocated to the United States, immigrants were looking for work. At the time Collinsville was full of large coal mines that needed workers. So, the town became a good place for people to settle down.
The President and CEO of the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau, Brett Stawar, joined Dana to talk about a new Italian restaurant called Mungo’s. Mungo's has been in Collinsville since mid-June and has been growing and evolving ever since. The people of Collinsville had been eagerly waiting for an Italian restaurant, and were thrilled when it finally arrived. Mungo’s has locations all over the metro-east, but you can now find them in a bigger space at their Collinsville location. They will also be participating in the Italian Fest.
Dana then made her way over to Spirito’s Italian Grocery to try rosettes, a popular appetizer. It is a homemade cheese spread, wrapped in salami.
Uptown Collinsville is a great place to walk around, so you can just park your car and walk the rest of the day from one place to another.
Schools in Collinsville have off this Friday, so Main Street will be full of people by 11AM. People can spend their lunch break eating good Italian food, and there will be entertainment as well. Italian Fest is the 20th and 21st of September, and you can find out more on their website, or on Facebook.
Find out ore about what’s going on in the region of Southwest Illinois at riversandroutes.com.