THUNDER BAY - From great food, creating family memories, or just meeting up with old friends, there is something for everyone at Festa Italiana. =
“It’s a meeting place for everybody,” said Benny Melchiorre, president of the Italian Society of Port Arthur. “It’s a place to meet new people, make new friends, and there are people coming back just for the Festa.”
“We like to celebrate our culture and at the same time we like to share with the rest of the community and pass it down to the next generation.”
Festa Italiana opened its 29thyear on Sunday and just an hour after the gates opened, the grounds at the Italian Cultural Centre were filling up.
“We have a big lineup of entertainment with local entertainment, from out of town, from overseas,” Melchiorre said. “We are excited. We have something different, something new for everybody, any age group. We are excited.”
Marge Charmoli and Bernice Wasche made the trip from Minneapolis and St. Paul for a second year to take in some of the musical entertainment, including accordion player, John Scaffeo.
“Johnny treats us like royalty,” Charmoli said. “We went and heard his band play at Kakabeka Falls and he treated us to dinner last night and played a private concert.”
“Since we met Johnny, we come up here because of the wonderful accordion music that is performed,” Wasche added. “Last night we got a wonderful presentation of probably some of the best Canadian musicians in the province.”
But no one can attend Festa without taking in the many food booths offering traditional Italian cuisine.
“We’ve taken in some great good,” Wasche said. “This is just getting started.”
“There are some new dishes every year,” Meliciorre said. “There are too many to mention. There is a big selection and all the different groups come up with a different menu every year to make it exciting and interesting.”
Once again, members of the Sottile family were busy serving up meatballs, gnocchi, and pasta prepared by the Italian Society of Port Arthur.
Kathleen Sottile said Festa Italiana is always a bit of a family reunion for her families and others.
“My family comes from out of town for this event,” she said. “We almost make it a reunion of sorts. A lot of families come together and meet at Festa.”
Last year, pulled pork was added to the menu and was a popular choice again this year. Over the course of the two days, Sottile said they will serve more than 4,500 pounds of gnocchi alone, which comes with two meatballs this year.
“Certainly the food is the number one and I know the entertainment is a big draw,” she said. “After the food, the other big thing is the chance to see people you haven’t seen for a while. Families come together.”
Festa Italiana continues on Monday from noon to 11 p.m. Fireworks are planned to close out the festivities on Sunday night and Monday night. For a full schedule of entertainment, visit the Festa Italiana website.
