The Italian Club of Benld would like to invite everyone to their celebration of the 60th Annual Italian-American Days Festival on May 24, 25, 26, and 27th at the Benld City Park in Benld, Illinois. The festival is known throughout the state of Illinois for its Italian foods and games. The week-end begins with the park opening at 4:00 P.M. on Friday May 24th. Swyear Amusements will offer carnival armbands from 6:00 P.M. until 10:00 P.M. where anyone may ride as often as they like for $20. The park will open at 4:00 PM. The Robert Perry Band with the Original Mojos will provide music for your dancing pleasure from 7:30 P.M. until 11:30 P.M. On Saturday May 25th, the Education Station pre-school will be sponsoring a 5K/10K run at the Benld City Ball field. Registration forms are available at the Education Station website www.educationstationpreschool.net Registration begins at 7:00 AM. The 1 mile/run will begin at 8:00 AM followed by the 5K/10K run which will begin at 8:30 AM. Early registration is only $20 if received before April 15th. April 16 through May 8th registration goes up to $25. After May 8th registration fee is $30. If there are any question about the race contact Angie Legendre 618-635-2986. The park will open at 4:00 PM. Carnival rides will be a $1.00 each from 4:00 P.M. until 10:00 P.M. Music will be provided by Agent 99 from 7:30 P.M. until 11:30 P.M. Sunday, May 26th is the highlight of the weekend. Beginning at 11:00 A.M. until 1:30 P.M., one ton of free spaghetti will be served at the park's lunch stand. Musical entertainment will be provided by the Bagna Caulda Combo from 11:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M. Avery Hill will follow from 3:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. Following the Avery Hill band, the Smash band will provide music from 7:30 P.M. until 11:30 P.M. Also on Sunday afternoon from 12:00 P.M. until 4:00 P.M., carnival armbands will be available for $20. The Bocce Ball Tournament will be played on Sunday starting at 1:00 P.M. Registration begins at noon in the beer tent. Monday, May 27th is the last day of the event with the park opening at 12:00 PM and closing at 5:00 P.M. Beer will be sold for $ 1 a cup throughout the afternoon. Armbands will be available from 1:00 P.M. until 5:00 P.M. for $20. Bingo will be played every night beginning at 7:00 P.M., except Monday when Bingo will be begin at 1:00 P.M. The fish stand will open each evening at 4:00 P.M. Italian Specialties including tortellini soup, homemade Italian salami, meatball sandwiches, bagna caulda, and spumoni ice cream will be sold along with various Italian novelty items including the annual festival shirts. Throughout the weekend, there will be plenty of food, rides, drinks, and fun. Come out and celebrate 60 years of Italian heritage. We?ll see you Memorial Day weekend! Benld is located 50 miles south of Springfield, Illinois and 45 miles north of St. Louis, Missouri on Illinois 138, two miles west of Interstate 55. If you have any questions, call 217-825-7052. You may also visit us at http://www.festing.com/community.cfm?city=BENLD&state=IL or follow us on Facebook Benld Italian American Days.