Little Italy Festival in Clinton, Indiana

Little Italy Festival in Clinton, Indiana


If Italian food is your thing, you have got to make it a point to check out the Little Italy Festival in Clinton, Indiana.

This more than forty year old Clinton, Indiana event is an Italian extravaganza!

Little Italy Festival in Clinton, Indiana

You know the usual fried food and cold drink vendors found at every fair in the county? Well, they have those, of course, but they also have plenty of Italian themed vendors! Definitely unusual and really fun.

Meandering through the Little Italy Festival, we discovered Italian Cream Cake from fund-raising booths and fair vendors as well as a bake sale with plenty of Italian goodness. Yum!

There’s nothing better than having a good excuse for buying baked goods.

Little Italy Festival Fun

Little Italy Festival in Clinton, Indiana

Little Italy Festival in Clinton, Indiana


We ate in what we think was the American Legion. Walking in was like stepping into my Italian Grandma’s kitchen many long years ago. Some things you don’t forget. The smell of Italian food in there is something no one could ever forget!

There was a rousing game of Beano going on while we bought Mostaccholi for Kid #1 and I. My husband, Jeremy, was adventurous and tried the Cabbage dish you see above. He had to ask how to eat it because we had no idea.

You shred up the cabbage and dip it in the meaty yet kind of oily broth. My husband wasn’t a fan. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed it!

When I got home, I called my 100% Italian Great Aunt to ask the name of that cabbage dish. Unfortunately, it’s not something that folks from their side of Italy, the Southern half, made!

My family hails from San Benedetto, Italy–a far cry from the small Indiana town where she ended up! She said that they just didn’t eat all that much cabbage. Who knew?

Indiana Fun

Little Italy Festival in Clinton, Indiana

Little Italy Festival in Clinton, Indiana


If you know what it is, please let me know in the comments below. I’m pretty sure I would recognize the name but can’t for the life of me remember it! Edited to Add: thanks for the emails!  I now know it is called Bagna Caulda. 

Clinton, Indiana is a great Indiana town to start with–the Little Italy Festival events are just a great little bonus!

Small Towns: Destinations, not Drive-Thrus! I’m Jessica Nunemaker and THIS is little Indiana!

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Clinton, Indiana in Vermillion County

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