Festa Season, Part 1: August

Here a festa, there a festa, everywhere a festa festa. We are coming to the end of party season in in Northern Italy. So very many opportunities for eating and drinking. Every weekend for the last three months there has been at least one event, either a community one or something hosted by a friend. It’s been intense and fun and fascinating.

The private parties I have been lucky enough to attend have been epic. I want to tell you all about them and post pictures, but I’m not sure that my friends want their faces associated with the shenanigans I’m up to here on this website. So, not too much about the private parties. The public festas though, those are fair game.

Festa dei Bambini (Children’s Festival)

This was such a sweet and homey small town festa. Put on as a fundraiser for the town next to ours, it was all about the kids, except of course that there was beer for sale. Otherwise no one would go. The games were simple, not all glammed up like I imagine they would be at the same kind of event in the US, and everyone was still having a great time. Kids got a necklace when they arrived with a checklist of all the stations on it. After eating the (amazing) free snack they got to go through town doing the activities and getting their cards marked off. There was corn hole, a string maze, and station where you could write your dreams and wishes on a piece of paper and put them in a box. My favorite station was the one where the kids put on an old hat with a pen connected to it by a string. They had to try to lower the pen into an empty water bottle and it was great to watch.

The festa concluded with a raffle in the square. All afternoon there was an announcer on a microphone talking about the 2000 piece Lego set you could win. Second prize was a 24″ TV (“senza telecomando!”, without remote!, he said over and over, like that was a selling point). Felix and the two friends we brought with us were devastated not to win so we had a swim in the local swimming hole to put everyone back in good spirits.

At the exit to the festa there were people giving out party favors that brought a happy tear to my eye. Each kid got to pick our a pot of herbs in a little bag to take home. The handwritten note on the bag says “Hi. Bring me with you and care for me.”

Karaoke with Belgians Night

Not a public festa, just a group of really crazy friends. This is our third year in a row of this ridiculousness, so I guess now it’s a tradition. My kid rocked the mic, I did not. But when Maniac from Flashdance was played…well, let’s just say I don’t let a song like that go to waste. The cool older lady who runs the place came out from behind the bar and pulled her crossword puzzle doing friend to her feet and the three of us danced in a way that made me feel we had bonded for life. Sadly, I doubt they felt the same way.

Leukemia Fundraiser Paella Festa

No pictures of this one. Our town started this fundraiser to raise money for leukemia research 14 years ago in memory of a local boy died. Everyone sits around the piazza eating so-so paella and meat on a stick for three days. There might also be a bike ride but I didn’t see any sign of it.

Ferragosto Costume Contest

Why oh why is this not a holiday everywhere?! Ferragosto, just for celebrating summer. It’s all about eating, drinking and hanging out with friends. A restaurant in town held a special costume contest and paella night (I don’t know what it is about paella around here, it’s festa food). We didn’t have costumes, and thank goodness because only about 15 people did and a third of them were politically incorrect. Italy hasn’t yet gotten the message that men dressing up as women, with balloon boobs, isn’t considered a good costume anymore. The highlight of the night was getting this picture with the chef who cooked all night in this get-up.

Day After Ferragosto River Picnic

When you think picnic, what do you picture? Nothing as good as this, I promise. The nicest group of people with good food, perfect weather and a swimming under a medieval bridge. It was as good as a day gets. Cook, hike, swim, eat, drink, eat, swim, drink, eat, hike. Then fall exhausted and happy through your front door about 9 hours later.

San Bernardo Fried Bread Festa

Yes, you read that right. Three days of fried bread and music in the middle of nowhere. We attended the Friday night portion when there was a DJ and at least 500 people. We have discovered that Italians don’t dance much. They don’t like looking silly so they just kind of bob their heads around with out moving their feet. My family on the other hand loves to looks silly. The sillier the better. So we danced our asses off. Felix is actually a really, really good dancer. Good enough that I wouldn’t believe he was our kid if I hadn’t grown him in my own body. He got the party started. In fact, he was dancing with the hottest woman in attendance right up at the front of the crowd. I was over on the side peeing my pants from laughing and dancing so hard and just admiring his way in the world.

Pornassio Festa dell’Uva (Grape Festival)

Okay, can we just pause to appreciate the name of this town? Porn-ass-io. It turns me into a seventh grade boy every time I drive through, and my husband is even worse. He wishes so badly we lived in Pornassio. Sigh.

This festa was kind of a dud. It was another three day festa and we tried it out two nights in a row. We had heard it was a good one and it was grape/wine themed so we had high hopes. But the food and music were so-so and the atmosphere was blah. A few things of note: 5 year olds waiting tables (community volunteers put on all of these events) while their parents cooked/smoked and a 13 person rock band that played while their kids ran around on stage. The lead singer actually performed while breaking up an argument between his two kids.

And you know how I said that Italians don’t dance? The exception is this guy:

And that was August. Next up, September: Snail slime, socks, farm equipment, acres of cheese, and Alpini marching bands.