The annual celebration of Italian food and culture in Wakefield is quickly approaching.

Wakefield's Festival Italia will take place on Friday August 10th and Saturday the 11th this year, with more vendors, more prizes, more fun and more buongiorno. 

The third annual Wakefield Italian Festival promises to bring in more restaurants than last year, more live entertainment, and nearly 70 outdoor vendors. 

"It's a little bit more of everything," said organizer Selectman Paul DiNocco, head of the Wakefield Event Planning Committee. "More restaurants, more eateries, more merchants coming to the street and more entertainment." 

Friday Night Dinner
The first festival event is an Italian buffet dinner at the Sheraton Colonial hotel in Wakefield. The event kicks off with a cocktail hour from 6-7 p.m., followed by the dinner from 7-10 p.m. The buffet will feature food from seven Wakefield restaurants. 

Tickets are $30 and are only being sold in advance through the Wakefield Daily Item, or by emailing wakefieldepc@gmail.com. 

Saturday Festival
On Saturday from 2-8 p.m., the main festival begins with a large swath of the downtown area closing off to cars so that stores, restaurants and spectators can pour out into the streets. Main Street will be closed from Yale Ave up through Richardson Street/Galvin Middle School. 

As for entertainment, many of the same acts Wakefield residents have come to love will return, including Boston Sports Clubs, car and motorcycle shows, singers and dance teams, a balloon artist and a caricature artist. New this year will be a bocce court set up in the Lincoln Street parking lot, a glass blower, and children's activities through Kidcasso Art Studio.

More than 60 businesses will be setting up outdoor shops and 20 stores will be representing different regions of Italy, through costumes, food, music, and other surprises.

Last year's big hit - the "Wheel of Chance," returns, and will be stationed at the Event Planning Committee booth at the corner of Main Street and Albion Street. Spin the wheel for a chance to win gift certificates and other prizes.

Eight Wakefield restaurants will be setting up outdoor seating, including Ristorante Molise, Harrington's, CnD's Barbeque, Cafe Italia, Chuck Wagon Diner, and Laurie's 9:09 who will have an oyster bar. 

For more information and to buy tickets to Friday's dinner, visit the Wakefield Events Planning Committee website. And check back to Wakefield Patch on Thursday for a specific guide on what each participating vendor has to offer to the community.

[Vendors, fill out this form to let the town know what you've got in store for the festival.]