. "0"^^ . "0"^^ . "4"^^ . "The Fifth Annual Italian Festival of Arizona was the best we've attended in four years. The entertainment was wonderful...a little bit of opera, a little bit of Rat Pack, and a whole lot of Italian. The food was delicious and well worth the price, although more choices would be welcome. Seating remains a challenge. It would be great if some temporary bench seating could be installed in front of the stages. My only complaints concern issues with dogs. Example: My husband and I were heading to a table to enjoy the Italian beef sandwich we'd just purchased. I happened to be carrying the sandwich in one hand and a glass of red wine (of course!) in the other. A huge dog, although on a leash, got a good whiff of the sandwich and leaped toward me, causing me to panic and spill my wine, ruining my clothes. What a waste of great wine! Another example, and maybe the worst: Being well acquainted with the lack of seating, we brought folding chairs to sit in while enjoying the entertainment. However, most people didn't have chairs and were forced to plop down on the grassy knoll...some sat, some stretched out. None of them knew that more than a few dogs had been doing their business in that area. One polite dog owner went to a restaurant to get a napkin to clean up her dog's mess...but other dog owners just laughed it off and went on their merry way. There definitely needs to be a \"doggie relief\" area. Finally, we did miss the flag throwers from Italy. Hope to see them next year. All things considered, we had a great time. Thanks, Italian Festival of Arizona, for this year's improvements: the food, the wine, the entertainment, and the bocce ball court (although we didn't play, since the court was overrun with kids who were racing around and throwing the bocce ball around as if it were a beach ball. Maybe we'll give it a try next year...the court needs adult supervision). We'll be back next year!"^^ . . "0"^^ . "2018-05-18T00:00:00"^^ . .