October isn't usually the month when thoughts turn to street festivals, but in Reno, it's often the optimum time for one. The weather is not beastly hot, and the snows are (usually) still weeks away. This is jacket weather and the perfect time for food that sticks to the ribs – pasta, anyone?

The Eldorado Italian Festival will have its 27th outing Saturday and next Sunday, and while it may not rival Hot August Nights or Street Vibrations, it has an ardent following.

It's just downright fun, and the music is terrific. Two blocks of Virginia Street are blocked off in front of the Eldorado and the Silver Legacy, and then lined with food stalls, entertainment stages and booths promoting various wares.

"The inspiration came from my father, Don Carano, and his wife, Rhonda," says Eldorado food and beverage manager Gregg Carano. "They were inspired by their trips to Italy and, of course, their heritage."

The Carano family came to Reno in the 1890s. They opened the Eldorado in 1973, defying warnings that the casino would do no business. It was located, you see, on the "wrong side of the tracks." Harrah's was just a block away, but south of the railroad.

Nobody had ever expanded gaming north and, even though the Eldorado was immediately north – literally alongside the tracks – conventional wisdom had it too far away for people to walk.

They were, of course, wrong. Now, three major properties are on the "wrong side" – the Eldorado, Silver Legacy and Circus Circus, all three with hotel towers – and the tracks themselves, having been sunk into a trench and now covered for a tunnel effect, are no longer an issue.

"When we first started the festival in 1981, we took up the back parking lot and it was a hit from Day 1. We made all the pasta by hand when we began. My father's aunt Lena made the ravioli. She's still with us at the age of 95. It was Old World. We are lucky Italian Americans with the casino and the Ferrari-Carano wines.

"The Italian Festival is special because there is so much richness, so much love for family, so much love for the neighborhood in the Italian tradition. And so much love for the food."

The festival features the last big farmers' market for the season, along with booths sponsored by the Garlic Growers Association of Gilroy and the Castroville Artichoke Growers. There is a gelato eating contest for kids, a spaghetti sauce cook-off, a grape stomping contest, and a bocce tournament.

Prices for the food have a wide range, from the special $1 pasta bowls available for early attendees at 2 p.m. each day, to the very popular Italian buffet inside the casino in both the traditional buffet and the convention center starting 4 p.m. each day ($22.99 adults, $10.99 kids).

Then there's the entertainment – music everywhere, all the time, from roaming accordionists to great traditional Nevada cabaret acts.

The Gaylords was one such act. They practically took up permanent residence in the cabarets of the 1960s to 1980s and appeared with Bill Cosby, Bob Hope, Don Rickles, Danny Thomas and many more. They were also billed as Gaylord and Holiday, and they had hits with "From the Vine Came the Grapes" and "The Little Shoemaker."

"We were just included in the PBS 'Italian American Favorites' hosted by Danny Aiello," says Burt Holiday, the surviving member of the original duo. "I still love to perform. We don't do as many shows as I'd like, actually. We do so well with the audience. All those years in the lounges taught us how to work a crowd."

Mario Fruzzetti is also on the bill, hailing from Pisa and noted for his powerful voice, one he loves to show off with arias and ballads. He performs with an eight-piece band, singing "usually fine Italian songs, all mixed in styles from classical to pop to old school.

The Rome Stage and the Venice Stage are on the streets, featuring the following acts:

Rome: Those Darn Accordions at 10:45 a.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday; performers from the show "Aphelion" at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Dean Regan and the Triple Crown Trio at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday; and Ray Massa's Eurorhythms at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and 10:45 a.m. Sunday.

Venice: Tom Serafini of Expresso 5 at 11 a.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday; Mereno Fruzzetti at 1 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday; and Bella Ciao at 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Casino Cabaret inside the Eldorado will feature Italian Duo at noon Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; Gene Ferrari at 2 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday; the Steve Balich Polka Band at 4 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday; and the Gaylords at 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The Eldorado Showroom will suspend its "Aphelion" show Saturday evening for two concerts by the Seintas at 7 and 9:30 p.m. ($19.95).

IF YOU GO

WHEN AND WHERE: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and next Sunday on Virginia Street in downtown Reno

PARKING: It is ample and free in the Eldorado (validation required), Silver Legacy and Circus Circus parking garages.