T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK The Ohio Valley Athletic Conference McDonalds All-Star Marching Band marched down the street during the Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival on Saturday.

WHEELING — The Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival had a lively second day at Wheeling Heritage Port on Saturday. By noon, crowds were filling the street as they sampled elements of the area’s Italian heritage, settled from the old country to the Ohio Valley.

“The festival is already getting crowded today,” Marilyn Wehrheim, vice president of the festival, said shortly before noon. “It looks like we’re going to have a great crowd today. The weather appears to be fantastic. (Monday’s) crowd was I think a little bit under what we’ve had before, but it was a good crowd. They really enjoyed the food on the streets.”

Wehrheim added the festival has become a traditional destination for many in the summer.

“We’ve got people who have come back for 35 years and have really enjoyed it,” she said. “We’ve had over 150,000 people (all together) before. … From New York, from New England, we’ve got people that come from all over the place. People plan their family reunions around the festival. … People come from all over the United States to the festival.”

She said she owes much of her involvement with the festival to her mother, board member Marie Messino-Wehrheim.

“My mother, she came from Palermo, Sicily. My mother was the first woman on the board since its inception,” Wehrheim said. “After my mom died in 98, the festival asked me if I would come onboard.”

Wehrheim said the festival gives $14,000 in scholarships every year, two schools are selected from Jefferson, Belmont, Hancock, Ohio, Brooke and Marshall counties.

“We are 100-percent non-profit … All the money we raise goes toward scholarships for students in the area,” she said. “It’s about our heritage, it’s about our family. It’s love of community, love of family.”

Wehrheim said Saturday’s featured performer was Ray Massa and EuroRhythms.

Michele Fabbro, president of the festival, said the Roots in the Boot booth is becoming a popular new attraction for festivalgoers of Italian ancestry interested in the traditions of the different regions of Italy.

“You can learn about your Italian heritage. You can enjoy the atmosphere, good food and wonderful entertainment,” Fabbro said.

“They can tell them everything special about that area,” Wehrheim said. “What pastas were made in that area. What cheeses and wines were discovered in that area. What famous people are from that area.”

Tami Cashioli was on duty at the booth.

“Sometimes they only know the city. We find out the region that city is from, and we have some fact sheets of interesting things,” she said. For example, she noted Abruzzo is the birthplace of the pizzelle, but the treat was made with a hand iron. The electric pizzelle maker was later invented in Steubenville.

The Sons of Italy had their traditional booth, with a ton and a half of homemade sausage to sell. Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Frank Fregiato, a Sons of Italy member, was on duty and said the sausages were moving fast.

“It’s been extremely steady. The sales are going extremely well. We are known as the best sausage-maker in the valley and we, of course, are. We appreciate that reputation and the support we receive from both sides of the Ohio River,” Fregiato said.

Larry Taylor of Neffs was among the customers at the booth. He said he is a frequent attendant of the festival.

“We come about every year,” he said. “We just kind of browse around and watch a little bit of everything.”

John Reid of Weirton was a newcomer.

“This is my first time here and I’m really impressed with it,” he said. “I was always interested in coming down. I thought I’d come down and see what everything was about. I’m very happy with it. I’ve been to the vendors and they’ve all be very nice. The food is amazing.

The WesBanco Arena also hosted a Bocce tournament. Players crowded the hall to compete in the Italian game.

“We’ve been coming here for 17 years,” Linda Ernest of Wheeling Island said, adding she and many others are of Italian heritage, but the game is fun for all.

“It’s competitive and pretty easy to play. It’s strategic,” Chad Ernest of Wheeling, her grandson, said.

“We enjoy it. It’s a tradition when the family comes. Grandkids, kids,” Gary Conkel of Wheeling said, adding many players value the camaraderie. “It’s a blast. It’s an all-day event and it carries through to Sunday. A lot of these people you don’t see until the following year. Everyone’s become friends.”

Thomas Triveri of Wheeling, one of the co-Italian Americans of the Year along with Anthony Polsinelli of Benwood, is another lover of Bocce.

“It’s tremendous,” he said. “We play until we have a champion.”

Triveri added that a tournament for special needs individuals was held before the main tournament.

“It went great. The kids have so much fun,” Triveri said. “It’s great for them, and we enjoy it.”

He said he was honored to be named an Italian American of the Year.

“I never dreamed I would get to this point,” he said.

The Ohio Valley Athletic Conference McDonalds All-Star Marching Band marched through the street at 1 p.m.

The festival will continues through today.