Safety concerns don’t keep crowds from Columbus Day Festival

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Labutti family couldn’t miss this year’s Columbus Day Festival on Federal Hill.

Despite recent incidents of violence in the neighborhood, including a fatal stabbing, they say they feel safe here.

“The streets are closed off, so you don’t have to worry about the cars coming by,” said Rachel Labutti, of Bellingham. “It’s safe. There’s police walking around. So we feel good here.”

An increased police presence is just one of the changes at this year’s festival.

“The traditions expand, new things come up,” said Rick Simone of the Federal Hill Commerce Association.

For those who want a culinary experience beyond just eating food, new this year are cooking demonstrations taught by some of the area’s finest chefs.

And this year, there was a special recognition: the Cianci Civic Award was given to Bill DiStefano for his commitment to neighborhood redevelopment.

His company is about to build 92 new apartments in the neighborhood.

“If you look at downtown, they’ve kind of had this building boom,” Simone said. “But if you look at Federal Hill, we’ve kind of lagged behind in that way. And Mr. DiStefano, in the last 18 months, started building here.”

But DiStefano says his family goes back generations in the neighborhood, and the festival shows why they’ve stayed.

“Great restaurants, bars,” he said. “A lot of nostalgia here. It’s improving, and we feel like it’s going to keep growing.”

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