by Payton Guion

The sausages sizzled and the Sizzler -- a ride that swings passengers around, narrowly avoiding collisions -- scrambled. But the real story of the 40th-annual Italian Festival here was the scorching heat. Even as the sun was setting, temperatures on Sunday held steady in the mid-90s and festival-goers flocked to any and every spare bit of shade. Still, hundreds of people came out on the final evening of this year's festival, held over the past five days at Joe Palaia Park.

Carl Cappadona, one of the leaders of the Ocean Township Italian-American Association, which organizes the yearly festival, said the heat had depressed attendance. "It's been hot," he said with a sardonic smile. "The weather hasn't been our friend this weekend." Cappadona said the festival usually attracts between 80,0000 and 100,000 people each year, but estimated that attendance was down by about 25 percent this year because of the heat.

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Source: http://www.app.com/