It was the 2006 Ferragosto Italian Festival, which wrapped up recently on downtown Salt Lake City's Rio Grande Street.

Italian-Americans and lovers of all things Italian gather each year in what is considered the city's Little Italy to observe Ferragosto - the traditional festival feted each August in Italy.

Utah's celebration was organized to celebrate the many contributions that Italian immigrants have made and still make to Utah. The gala also doubles as an outlet for Italian-Americans to show their pride in their heritage.

From the 1890s to the 1920s, Italian immigrants to the Beehive State dubbed the area that is now Pioneer Park as Little Italy. Years later, members of Utah's Italian Community - including Adriano Comollo and Tony Caputo, honorary mayor of Little Italy - strive to revive Little Italy. Ferragosto has played a major role in the revival, attracting ever-larger masses since the event was first was staged in 2003.

This year's festival featured an array of performers - everything from vocalists to accordion players performing such Italian classics as "Angelina" and "That's Amore." Festival-goers clapped and danced to the music.

Representatives from the LDS Church's Family History Library were there with materials to help Italian-Americans search out their ancestors. Salvador Sciutto and his wife searched for his family information. He is from Connecticut, but proudly claims Sicilian ancestry.

"I went to the [Family History] Library in 1980", Sciutto said, "but they didn't have any Italian records at that time."

Pioneer Park also had a clay court for merrymakers at the festival to play bocce, an Italian sport similar to lawn bowling. Dan D'Amico and his family have been playing bocce in their yard for years, but took the opportunity to play on the clay surface during Ferragosto. He says that bocce is a great family sport because players of all ages can compete.

Bocce players take turns rolling balls down the court and earn points for getting their ball as close as possible to the pallino (the smallest ball). Jim Webster, who sits on the Utah Bocce Association's board of directors, says the sport is becoming so popular in the United States that many people are supplanting swimming pools with bocce courts.

Ferragosto also is making waves in Salt Lake City, realizing co-founder Ed LaGuardia's goal: "Show Salt Lake we have an Italian heartbeat here."