THUNDER BAY - It’s a festival worth returning home for, just ask Jim Sawicki, who planned his trip to return to his hometown to coincide with a trip to his cultural roots at the Festa Italiana.
“We knew it was happening the time that we booked our trip,” Sawicki said. “We are originally from Thunder Bay. We are living in Phoenix, Arizona now. I have an Italian background and it’s comfortable and we’re happy here.”
The 27th annual Festa Italiana kicked off on Sunday at the Italian Cultural Centre. According to festival chair, Benny Melchiorre, every year the festival is a success because it has the right combination.
“We are right in the middle of the city, there’s free admission, there’s something for everybody,” he said. “I think we do the right thing. There’s good food and good entertainment.”
This year’s festival includes performers all the way from Italy, as well as little closer to home, with local dance group Le Stelle Alpine Dancers and the Alpini Choir performing on the main stage.
“We like to promote our culture and share with the rest of the community and pass it along to the next generation of Canadian Italians,” Melchiorre said. “This year, we are not only celebrating Festa Italiana, we are celebrating 150 years of Canada. It’s is a big event.”
The opening ceremonies launched the festival with the cutting of a Canada 150 cake, which symbolizes one of the most popular features of the annual event, the food.
“We came for the food and the people,” said Connie. “It gets people together. A lot of people are isolated and on their little technology and they don’t want to get out. This way, you’re out and getting together with other people and you get to experience other cultures and their foods and entertainment.”
A raffle for a trip to Italy is also up for grabs, with all the money raised going towards the Northern Cancer Research Foundation.
The festival continues Sunday until 11 p.m. with a fireworks display and then picks up again on Monday and runs from noon to 11 p.m.
“We are all excited,” Melchiorre said. “It’s only officially opened an hour and there’s already a couple of thousand people here and the crowd is getting thicker and thicker. It’s perfect weather for a festival.”
And while the food is delicious, the entertainment is exciting, and the fireworks promising to be thrilling, at the heart of Festa Italiana is the people.
“You connect with the hearts of people and it’s easy to do that here,” Sawicki said. “It’s wonderful.”
