It seems rather unfortunate that during a weekend where so much is going on in and around Manchester, we should be impacted by rail and bus strikes. At least the Metrolink is running... unless you're in Eccles. However I am not in Eccles, but Bolton, and also taking place this weekend is the Bolton Food Festival. I did instead go to Festa Italiana, a wonderful, charming food and drink festival dedicated to the food of our boot-shaped-country-living European friends.
Do not let the perimeter fencing and security put you off as you walk around to find your entrance (just off the Corn Exchange side of Cathedral Gardens if you must know). All this really does ensure an incredibly friendly and safe area where one can stroll around at their leisure taking in the smells and sights of various Italian and Sicilian delicacies, as well as hear the foot-tapping-hand-clapping inducing music which range from operatic classics, traditional folk songs as well my personal favourite, Neapolitan songs.
Occupying a relatively small space, Festa Italiana offers, with considerable success, everything you possibly need from an Italian food and drink festival. You have pizza, you have pasta, you have arancini, sandwiches, biscuits, cannoli, gelato... the list is endless. On top of this concentrated group of fine vendors, one can also experience various cookery master classes, with the likes of Sofia Gallo and Gennaro Contaldo (to name but two) making appearances over the weekend. There’s something for the bambinos (or should that be bambini) too in the form of Carmela’s Kitchen where you can learn to make fresh pasta and take it home with you. It is such a fantastic little festival which really caters for everyone!
Additionally, due to the size of the festival, Festa Italiana seems to be brimming with atmosphere. There is a reason I mentioned the Bolton Food Festival before, and that is because there is something to be said about size and atmosphere not going hand in hand together. At the risk of being dragged into the street and beaten up by an angry mob of my fellow townspeople, I’ve never particularly enjoyed Bolton Food Festival. Being the biggest certainly does not mean being the best, and it has to be said that if these bigger festivals (looking at the Manchester Christmas Markets too) took a good look at Festa Italiana, and scaled everything back, focussed on atmosphere and the quality and appeal of the vendors, then perhaps the public would be more willing to go to these events. It is a perfect example of quality over quantity.
One usually goes to these events and find the vendors and other staff looking bored out of their minds, giving you the filthiest of looks because you dare ask for some food. That is not the case here, as everyone seems incredibly friendly and happy to talk to you about their craft and passion for whatever it is they do. It is that warm Italian embrace and pride that has become ever so romanticised in recent times which again makes this festival worth visiting over others.
The location too is another positive, nestled between the Corn Exchange, Cathedral and Cheetham’s school, it is close by to the Arndale should you wish to go shopping before or after, and is only a couple of minutes walk from Victoria Station as well as Exchange Square tram stop. This could have easily have been hosted elsewhere in the city but it most definitely would not have the same positive feeling that it does have in Cathedral Gardens. It is apparent that serious thought has been put into this.
Festa Italiana is free to enter, and if there has to be anything to grumble about it would be the prices (then again, grumbling about the price of things has become the new national pastime (for good reason, of course)). However they’re not bank breaking or extortionate, do not let that put you off. You can still enjoy the festival and there is great food and drink to be had if you take time to pick where and what you’ll eat. Prices are what one can expect for a food festival in central Manchester.
If there has to be a highlight, or special pick that is worth going to the festival for though, it has to be Cafe Cannoli. The Sicilian sweet treat is a personal favourite and having tried cannoli seemingly all over the region and further a field, the friendly folk at Cafe Cannoli have mastered the cannolo to the extent that it makes you wonder how you coped in life before having one (or six) of theirs.
Of course the great British weather means that it is due to rain this weekend, but don’t let that dampen matters. If you can only make one event this bank holiday weekend, then make it Festa Italiana.
Reviewer - Daryl Griffin
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