Festa Italia will have to wait until next year to make its comeback. Organizers announced the annual festival will be canceled for the second year in a row because of the coronavirus pandemic. Club president David Rizzo said they hoped to bring it back this year but “[u]nfortunately, ours will be one of the many festivals and community celebrations that will have to wait until next year.”

Rizzo explained how organizers initially tried moving the event, held at McKee Farms Park, in Fitchburg, from its usual weekend after Memorial Day dates to the end of July to give more time for COVID-19-related concerns and restrictions to ease, but Italian Workman’s Club eventually decided to throw in the towel after deciding they would not be able to meet some safety requirements, particularly relating to social distancing.