By Susan Clark Porter

The traditional end-of-summer St. Anthony's Festival will be held this Labor Day weekend, although organizers have scaled it back from three days to two. Weather and soggy ground at the SMS Field forced last year's festival, which pays tribute to the strong Italian heritage in this town, to be postponed until Columbus Day weekend. Difficulty in securing enough help for the three-day festival spawned rumors that it might not be held in 2015, but St. Anthony's Commission members agreed to hold a shortened event.

Fran Barbieri, the commission's secretary, said the festival will kick off at 5 p.m. Friday at the Ovid Street grounds and conclude Saturday evening with fireworks. On Sunday, the sole events will be the procession from the Rumseyville Club with the St. Anthony statue to the 11 a.m. Italian Mass and presentation of the Father Beatini Award. That honor is bestowed on a person of Italian descent for outstanding community service.

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Source: http://www.fltimes.com/