The Festa Italiana has come and gone, but not without leaving plenty of good memories in the minds of Bradfordians.

With more than 6,000 meatballs, 10 kettles of sauce and 700 pounds of Italian sausage, folks left each day of the Festa with full stomachs and smiling faces.

For over 50 years, the event organizers have made sure that proceeds raised at the festival go to the community organizations that volunteer.

The Festa was full of familiar faces, some faces seen everyday and other faces only seen in Bradford when the Festa rolls around.

On the last day of the event, participants of the Festa were discussing with one another about the fun of the festival, and some were looking forward to the next Festa.

“It’s always a bittersweet feeling for me,” said Georgie Auteri of Bradford. “I’m so happy that I went, but I’m sad that it’s over. I already can’t wait until next year!”

With all the food that goes into making the Festa, sometimes food is leftover. Just like with donating proceeds, the organizers of the Festa make sure to take any of the leftover food over to the Friendship Table.

After completely finishing up, the committee members are able to take a well-deserved month off from planning and organizing. Once that month is up, the Festa planning process starts all over again.

Bradfordians are already counting down the days until next year’s Festa Italiana.