THUNDER BAY - While it may be slightly scaled back from what people remember, organizers with Festa Italiana are still busy preparing a hefty serving of Italian culture and food.
The 32nd annual Festa Italiana will take place this weekend and chair Benny Melchiorre said due to some uncertainty in the early stages of planning, this year will still be a scaled back version of the festival.
“Slowly we are getting back to our regular Festa,” he said. “We were hoping to do a full Festa this year, but it takes a lot of planning. It takes about six months planning, especially if you want to get entertainers from Italy or any other part of the world. Just six months ago, we didn’t know what was going to happen.”
The event has been scaled back for the last three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year will see the return of live entertainment from local musicians and of course, plenty of food available for takeout.
“The food of course, but for us, we look forward to get back to our regular Festa,” Melchiorre said. “This would have been the 32nd year. Back in 1991 we came up with this idea of Festa, a weekend celebration. From there on it has been growing every year. We can’t just walk away from 30 years of celebration and memories. So we look forward to a full Festa.”
There will be a smaller version of the beer tent at the Italian Cultural Centre site as well as Italian desserts, but no other food vendors will be participating this year.
According to Melchiorre, last year’s takeout event saw more than 4,000 people come through to place an order for gnocchi, meatballs, pasta, and lasagna, though that's a far cry from the more than 20,000 people who normally come out for the festival.
“We are really happy with the response from the community," said Melchiorre. "Last year we had so many people lined up for the food and this year with the live entertainment, I’m pretty sure there will be more people.”
Festa Italiana will be taking place at the Italian Cultural Centre on Sunday and Monday from noon to 8 p.m.
