We love a good pizza and pasta as much as the next person, but don’t be fooled, the Italian culture isn’t limited to delicious carbohydrates. Returning for its third year, the Adelaide Italian Festival is set to show you what Italy’s world-class offerings are all about.
For a full ten days, running from Friday 11 through to Sunday 20 November, the Adelaide Italian Festival will showcase almost 60 events; day and into the night in true Italian style.
With the launch of their 2022 program, there’s bound to be something that tickles your fancy – featuring a range of different affairs from regional dinners, to cooking classes and demonstrations, art and historic tours, exhibitions, car shows, fashion, and many more exciting happenings.
The Adelaide Italian Festival officially kicks off on Sunday 6 November with a signature pre-event, La Grande Gita – a family-friendly Italian-style bike ride through the picturesque Barossa Valley with delicious local food and wine offerings along the way. The bike ride sees a relaxing taste for what’s to come, but also contrasts the official Opening Night Street Party on Friday 11 November which will see Adelaide’s East End transform into Little Italy for the night.
Other festival highlights include the Journey Mass held at St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral on Sunday 13 to honour the state’s Italian migrants, the Annual Italian Space Forum on Tuesday 15 which will bring together Italian Australians who are leaving their mark on the growing Australian Space industry, the Autoclassica on Sunday 20 which sees an all-Italian car and motorbike show that will take over the Torrens Parade Ground for all to enjoy, and a special Closing Gala Dinner on Saturday 19 to thank all those who make the festival possible with one last hurrah. The festival also offers a range off free events for all to enjoy.
And as fate would have it, the Adelaide Italian Festival also coincides with La Settimana Della Cucina Italiana, a week dedicated to highlighting Italian cuisine. From Tuesday 14 until Sunday 20, Adelaide Italian community radio station, Radio Italiana 531, will be joining forces with various local Italian community clubs to host a series of delicious and entertaining cooking demonstrations in the Adelaide Central Markets. Expect to be marveled by a range of nonni cooking up a storm in the kitchen as they share their secrets from each of their respective regions including Friuli, Veneto, and Campania.
Chair of the Adelaide Italian Festival, Ben Rillo says, “While we Italians are known for our food and wine, our festival is about so much more than that and our range of events this year is a testament to Italy’s diverse culture and the proud heritage that our community continues to share to this day.”
“Our aim of the festival is to invite people of all backgrounds to immerse and delve into culture. We are essentially converting Adelaide into Italy for ten days and we want to give people a full experience and provide them with memories with a classic Italian flavour,” Ben shares.
The Adelaide Italian Festival has its sights set on becoming the world’s greatest Italian Festival while it continues to provide the opportunity for people to celebrate Italy’s world-class food and wine, art, culture, technology, and traditions.
Check out the full program and make sure to nab your tickets – missing out would be like a slice of pizza accidentally dropped on the floor; sacrilege and straight up sad.