With roving goombahs, rolling bocce balls, flowing Chianti and a dizzyingly aromatic garlic-onion-sausage atmosphere, the Feast of San Gennaro is definitely one of Hollywood's finest traditions. Now in its 12th year, this sprawling, swinging street celebration of all things Italian is an old-world thrill-fest, a gloriously gluttonous bacchanal fueled by generous measures of live entertainment and a full-blown carnival (complete with Ferris wheel, giant slides and game booths). The cooking stage has dozens of chef demos, a “cheese building” event (yep, they'll carve a wheel of Parmesan into a likeness of the Coliseum), contests (there's a daily gravy-versus-sauces showdown and a kids' pizza faceoff) and, of course, innumerable food stands and vendors. Thursday's Prima Notte kickoff features japes from Feast co-founder Jimmy Kimmel and his former Man Show colleague Adam Carolla, and along the way there's nonstop music from the likes of jazz boss Pat Longo; a baker's dozen of Sinatra tributes to fly you to the moon; hordes of Italian singers and musicians doing pop, classics and opera; and, yes, even Frank Stallone. Go from antipasto to zeppole, and back again. 1651 N. Highland Ave., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sun., Sept. 26-29, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; $5 general, kids under 12 free. (818) 508-0082, feastofla.org.

Thu., Sept. 26, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fri., Sept. 27, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sat., Sept. 28, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun., Sept. 29, 11 a.m.-11 p.m., 2013

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.