In Mercer County, N. J, the last weekend of September hosts the annual Mercer County Italian American Festival. The 17^th annual festival occurred Sept. 23–25 at Mercer County Park in West Windsor.

For three days Italian and Italian American heritage and culture was celebrated at one of New Jersey’s Top Fall Festivals, named by CBS New York. From many of the area’s best Italian restaurants and vendors to Italian Market tents featuring Italian-American handcrafted products, to games, amusement rides, entertainment, bocce, theater, fireworks and more, many joined in on the celebration.

My mom, cousin and I stopped by the festival for a few hours on Saturday to walk around and, of course, eat. When you entered through the gate, aromas and scents overwhelmed, from pizza and cheesesteaks to zeppole and cannoli; where do you start?

We began our food binge with a 10” personal plain tomato pie from DeLorenzo’s Pizza on the Go. Naturally, like the brick-and-mortar restaurant in Robbinsville, it was a slice of heaven. We continued around the fairgrounds deciding what to eat next and opted to split a cheesesteak amongst the three of us — which was a smart move considering we previously spotted the dessert tents. The cheesesteak could have been better: The peppers and onions were good; however, the cheese was cold.

We moved on and headed straight for desserts. I ordered the crème horn and a red-and-green-sprinkled sugar cookie — to take home, obviously — and my cousin ordered tiramisu. I couldn’t contain my excitement and had to immediately dive into the crème horn, ending up with powdered sugar on my face and all down my shirt — it never fails. The desserts from Italian People’s Bakery are classics, from lobster tails to pies, cakes and bread, you cannot go wrong. All in all, the Italian American Festival is a Mercer County staple and surely not to be missed.

— Jenna Payesko, advertising and editorial coordinator