SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — From pizza to pasta the delicious smells of Italian dishes will be drawing in tens of thousands of people to the Electric City.

Classic Italian music ringing throughout Courthouse Square in Scranton can only mean one thing, La Festa Italiana is back.

“Music to me is a big key, you know you got to have the right music. There’s a song for almost everything,” said Frank Gervasi a musician, Frankie and Toby.

The men behind the tunes are Frank Gervasi and Nick Luongo.

La Festa is nothing new to the pair as they have performed every year since the beginning in 1976 with their former group ‘The Poets.’

“It was Columbus Day, and we were right over there in front of the building, and it was snowing,” says Nick Luongo a musician of the Luongo Brothers band.

“My hair was black then, look at it now. Something’s wrong, no,” added Gervasi.

The long-standing tradition spans across four days offering a ton of delicious food like sausage and peppers.

“Coming to see the people, the atmosphere in Scranton. What they set up here to make it like Italy and the food is incredible,” said Dan Figura the owner of Dan Figura’s Concessions.

While chowing down many also take the opportunity to embrace the Italian roots in the area.

“So our children and grandchildren can appreciate the sacrifices, the work, the efforts that immigrants played in this part of Northeastern Pennsylvania for generations and really appreciate that,” says Chris Dimattio a chairperson, of La Festa Italiana of Lackawanna County.

Taking all year to plan dozens of volunteers come together to welcome more than 100,000 people to the Electric City.

“Meeting everybody and everybody coming together to pull off an event like this, for a small group of people, is just absolutely humbling,” said Debbie Meila a board member of La Festa Italiana of Lackawanna County.

For some taking part in the footsteps of the generations before them.

“We had a 92-year-old volunteer and he was as spry as ever, I think it keeps him young, and we had some young college kids, grandsons of members, come by and help us as well,” says Dr. Peter Cognetti the president of Scranton Unico.

La Festa Italiana in Scranton kicks off Friday at 4:00 p.m.

Sydney Kostus live at 6:30 a.m.