Darwin Italian Festival was an event we happened to chance upon during our visit. We first heard it from a fellow passenger asking our Parap Saturday Market shuttle bus driver about it. Then as we were the last to alight the bus, our friendly driver gave us more information on it.
Only into its 4th year, the one-day only Festival was held at Darwin Civic Park. It was a whole day event from 12pm to 10pm. With performances, exhibition booths and food sales, Darwin Italian Festival is a celebration of vibrant Italian culture and popular Italian cuisine.
Closest to the entrance were booths showing Italian art and culture. Cardboard replicas of famous Italian landmarks, such as Rialto Bridge, were used to decorate the venue. A red Fiat was displayed among other cars and bikes in line with the theme of things Italiano.
Kids were kept entertained at the kids zone, which included a bouncy castle.
There were 15 food stalls. Food on sale included Pasta Bologna Carbonara (A$12), Antipasto Platter (A$15), Tuscan Stew (A$15), wood-fires pizzas, Italian desserts and drinks.
Introductions and speeches kicked start the day’s events. In line with the theme, the grand lucky draw prize was a pair of tickets to Italy via Singapore. We joked that if we ever had the luck to win this grand prize, they can save one leg of the air fare.
After speeches by guests-of-honour and organising committee members, performances finally began. First on stage, traditional flag throwers all the way from Sansepolcro in Italy with Flag Show Italia. The art of flag throwing dates back to medieval times. Flags of medieval guilds were considered sacred hence not allowed to touch the ground.
The skilled flag throwers waved and propelled huge colourful flags into the air while performing synchronised moves, to the best of drums. The crowd was enthralled, so were we.
Throughout the day, there were performances lined up every hour: opera, folk band, kids troupe, etc. There was even a spaghetti eating competition and food demonstration. We did not stay for the rest though, as we got more sight-seeing to do.
Next stop, Crocosaurus Cove.
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Read about my trip itinerary and the places visited in A Weekend In Darwin .
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