The weekend of gravy and grazie, pasta and powder rooms, music and meatballs is upon us, as Memphis Italian Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary, and all things Italian, at Marquette Park in East Memphis.

Powder rooms? Yes. The portable potty might not hail from Italy, but only at Italian Fest will you find a contest dedicated to how it’s decorated. Lucky for food lovers, there’s plenty more to the festival that is an annual fundraiser for Holy Rosary Parish School. Gates open for the three-day event at 4 p.m. Thursday and the fun goes on until 11 p.m. Saturday.