SacPress Photos | Kati Garner

Sacramento's Italian community is known to produce gourmet food, but there's much more to the community than Biba, Sofia's and Hot Italian. With this weekend's Festa Italian opening Saturday and running through Sunday at The Croatian Culture Center, we take a look back at the role Italian immigrants and their descendants played in Sacramento's history. Italian Americans have a long history in the Sacramento area. Agriculture and food processing are just some of the many successes of Italian Americans who settled in the area in the early 1850s, but their successes are hardly limited to that. Early Italian Americans Many of the earliest Gold Rush settlers who migrated in the "Mother Lode

                                                                                                        This old Dodge truck is like the one used in 1922 when Rex Moore Electrical Contractors did business out of their basement at 616 San Antonio Way in East Sac. The business is now owned/operated by David Moore (grandson) and Brock Littlejohn.                                                                             Kadea Metara and Merlin Ghostwoof, an 11-1/2 year old Siberian Husky made a grand appearance (left) as did Diane Tempest and Hudson on wheels.                                                                   Twins Talullah and Matilda McKinzie waved their flag

                         Tom Ford and his daughter Kennedy prepare their front yard anticipating the July 4th parade that goes down their East Sac street. The block party along 41st St. starts at 10am. Ford built a 400 sq. ft stage in front of his front porch which will host the band Q-Balls. Behind the red, white and blue post is a cantina which will serve drinks. Parade begins at 11am.                                       Ford's neighbor Joe Riehl delivers the signs for Tom's cantina. In the bed of the pickup is a ping-pong table for tournaments after the parade. A taco eating contest will take place nearby. Riehl says he and Ford are the "unofficial" co-chairs of the parade.