You might call the annual Feast of Little Italy in Jupiter’s Abacoa area a little cheesy. And that’s perfectly OK with event producer Jerry Soma. Actually, he encourages it - “I cannot imagine (Italian cooking) without it,” Soma says. “Of course, not every dish has cheese in it, but I can’t imagine growing up without it.”

In honor of the weekend-long event, sponsored by Sorrento Cheese and Ed Morse Honda, Soma presents five cheesy facts about the festival:

1. There will be over 1,200 pounds of ricotta cheese used this weekend in everything from cannoli to ravioli to calzone.

2. More than 500 pounds of string cheese will be either given out to festival-goers by Sorrento mascot Stringster, or assembled into towers by local celebrities at Sunday’s Sorrento Cheese Building contest for charity.

3. Add that to more than 250 pounds of Parmesan and more than 1,000 pounds of mozzarella.

4. Soma says that food, with or without cheese, is incredibly important to Italian culture “because no matter what happens, there is food. Whether it’s celebration or a sad time, at any type of event, we’re always surrounded by food. The first thing we do is gather around a table. My own grandfather taught me what breaking bread means, and what that symbolizes.”

5. Besides the food, the festival includes entertainment like The Crests (Sunday, 6 p.m.), Johnny Contarda of Sha Na Na (8 p.m. Friday), and Frankie Valli tribute group Let’s Hang On (Saturday, 8 p.m.).