A tradition in Wellsville for more than 20 years may be coming to an end after the Sons of Italy announced the cancelation of its Italian Festival this year. On Friday, the group posted on its Facebook page saying it will not hold the event for the first time in 21 years. Sons of Italy Lodge #657 President Joe Traina cites the lack of manpower as the main reason.

At its highest, the group used to have upwards of 400 members. Now, that number is closer to 150. “Our population is aging. It’s just not enough to run a 3-day event, which it’s 18 hours of actual festival time on the street, but there’s a lot more that goes into it than those 18 hours,” Traina said.