text: As Chad said, it was nothing too special, which was a let down. I've missed the Italian Festival the past few yrs since I'm usually out of town Columbus Day wknd but when I saw I would actually be able to go this year, I got giddy. A festival celebrating my heritage and good food? Bring it. \n\nThe Atrium is a nice location but I think an outdoor location would be more appropriate then there could be bocce! I was a little surprised that was the located that it has been in in the past. We walked in and there was a huge stage set up where this one dude juggled for a good amount of time and he rocked then some singing and dancing afterwards. One of the highlights was a cooking demonstration from The Thoughtful Baker, who is based out of Ballantyne and makes gluten free goodies. They had other vendors selling shirts, oils, wines, etc. along with food tents and tables with Italian artifacts and books.The food was decent but nothing exceptional like I was expecting and was more along the lines of Olive Garden quality (meh in my book). I was gonna give it 2 stars but can't diss my people plus some of the proceeds go towards their scholarship foundation (Christopher Columbus Italian Club of Charlotte) I don't know, I wouldn't go out of my way to go again and it didn't seem like a festival in my book, more like an informational fair.