It’s summer in the city and although two of San Francisco’s Italian themed festivals have come and gone, there’s still more serious festeggiare (celebrations) to come.
On June 13th and 14th we enjoyed the 61st annual North Beach Festival in San Francisco’s Little Italy. It’s the oldest street fair in the nation with its humble beginnings as the Upper Grant Avenue Fair back in 1954.
And, just this week, on July 29th, North Beach Neighbors hosted the first ever National Lasagna Day competition and dinner. Participating restaurants competed to win the inaugural “Best Lasagna” trophy, judged by a panel of five local luminaries. The competing restaurants included Acquolina, Alimento, Da Flora, Firenze by Night, The Italian Homemade Company, Piazza Pellegrini, San Francisco Italian Athletic Club/Marcella’s Lasagneria, Sodini’s, and Tony’s Pizza Napoletana. And the winner was?
If you missed these two local celebrations of Italian meraviglie (wonderfulness), don’t despair. There is still time to celebrate summer Italian style.
The annual Festa Coloniale Italiana will happen on Saturday, August 15th, from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. It takes place in the heart of San Francisco’s North Beach, and is a decades-old community and cultural event that celebrates the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club’s heritage and its 97th anniversary.
The Festa takes place on Stockton Street across from the historic Washington Square Park between Union and Filbert Streets. These streets will be closed to vehicular traffic. This spectacular geographic location is in the center of the North Beach business district and the heart of San Francisco’s Italian-American community.
Exhibitor presentations and sales range from Italian arts and crafts to specialty foods. Performances by Bay Area Italian musical artists and dancers are featured on the festa stage.
Festa highlights include Italian food, live performers with a special guest soon to be announced, pizza toss by Tony’s Pizza, vendors with specialty Italian gifts, wine tasting, along with other delights.
Of course, we can also look forward to Italian Heritage month in October when the Bay Area will celebrate Columbus Day with a parade on October 11, 2015, along with the Madonna del Lume Celebration and the Italian Heritage Grand Ball and Banquet. Look for more information in the next few months and find you how you can support the parade by becoming a parade sponsor or donating raffle prizes by visiting the San Francisco Columbus Day website at http://www.sfcolumbusday.org.
But wait! There’s actually no need to wait until October. Check out the following list of upcoming events and visit the associated websites. These organizations offer many Italian related experiences all within driving distance of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sacramento’s Festa Italiana is happening on August 1-2, 2015. Details are available at http://www.italiancenter.net.
San Jose’s Italian-American Family Festa is on August 29-30, 2015. Details are at http://iahfsj.org.
The Monterey Santa Rosalia Fisherman’s Festival will take place on September 11-13, 2015.
For more information, go to http://www.festaitaliamonterey.org.
The North Bay Italian Cultural Foundation in Santa Rosa has several August events listed on their website at http://www.nbicf.org. They include music, mercatos, bocce, and classic Italian films. Click on the website listing at the right to view recent newsletters and the many other opportunities offered by this organization.
And there’s more! Cinema Italiano è Arrivato a San Francisco!
The Italian cinema has arrived in San Francisco. Word is that Italian Director Gabriele Muccino is filming his latest movie, Summertime, on location in San Francisco. The city by the bay is one of several scenic locales in the film. Film crews have been setting up near Buena Vista Park, on Haight Street, and in SoMa’s Oasis club. This is not the first film Muccino directed in the city. His touching drama, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), was also filmed in San Francisco
Summertime is described as a coming-of-age/road movie set in Rome, San Francisco, New Orleans and Cuba. American actors Joseph Haro and Taylor Frey play a young gay couple in San Francisco who meet up with Italians Marco (Brando Pacitto) and Maria (Matilda Lutz), two strangers traveling from Spain to start a new life in America.
In an interview with Variety, Muccino shared his vision of the film by saying, “It’s about four young people searching for their identities and existences. This summer voyage sparks group dynamics that not only define their different cultural explorations, but also prompt unexpected emotional interplay. Muccino shared his plans to adapt Erica Jong’s erotic novel, Fear of Flying, for the big screen and hopes to begin filming next fall. Gabriele Muccino was born in 1967, in Rome, Lazio, Italy. While you are enjoying our local Italian celebrations during these summer months, you might also find yourself in an Italian film. Festeggiare!
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