Darian Gold serves an order of meatballs at the Sons and Daughters of Italy booth at Butler's Italian Fest Friday.

Hundreds of county residents spent Friday evening listening to traditional Italian songs while eating sausage, pasta and meatballs at the Butler Italian Festival.

Marco Fiorante, who is from Rome, kicked off the festival by encouraging people who are interested to look further than the common Italian traditions many Americans enjoy.

“It's more than just the food and the pizza,” Fiorante said. “We have a whole rich history of art and architecture.”

The third Butler Italian Festival takes place this weekend, and until 6 p.m. Sunday, Main Street in Butler will be filled with tents selling food and merchandise as well as the white, red and green colors of the Italian flag.

Read more in Sunday's Butler Eagle.