Of course, everyone is welcome to share in the day’s festivities. In keeping with Italian tradition, food is a very important part of any celebration ― it’s central to the Italian way of life!
Norton Street will be filled with stalls offering all kinds of traditional Italian dishes, and there will be long communal tables where groups of families and friends can gather to enjoy food and drink together.
Some of the most popular activities at the Norton Street Italian Festa each year are the cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs, who willingly share their recipes and offer the public the opportunity to sample the delicious foods they prepare.
Many chefs and special guests will present their recipes on the MarketPlace Cooking Stage, hosted by Enzo Guarino and Luciano Ippoliti from My Kitchen Rules. The program is packed with live demonstrations of pizza making, other traditional Italian cooking and interactive lessons for children and adults.
From 10 am to 5 pm, Norton Street will be completely transformed by the colours, sounds and culinary aromas of fine Italian food, street activities and on-stage entertainment.
Entertainment will take place on the Co.As.It. Festa Main Stage throughout the course of the day, with an eclectic mix of music and dance, from traditional to modern, and performances from special guests such as Joe Avati and Cosima De Vito.
The Norton Street Italian Festa aims to provide something interesting for the whole family. There will be a wide range of stalls selling clothing and various products ― potential Christmas gifts galore. For children, there will be rides, bungee jumping, ponies, community stalls and more.
More than 150,000 visitors are expected to fill Norton Street in Leichhardt, the heart of Sydney's 'Little Italy', to enjoy the culinary splendours of the food stalls and the Italian-style entertainment. Further symbolising the Italian spirit will be the display of classic Italian cars and motorbikes in Pioneers Memorial Park. Anyone will be able to marvel at classic Italian car brands, including Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Abarth, Ducati, Vespa, Aprilia and Piaggio.
In the midst of all the commotion on Norton Street, the well-known Royal Hotel will also act as a central meeting place where visitors can take a break on the historic balcony for a bird's eye view.
Festival-goers will additionally be able to admire some historical photos of Australia's Italian community. These are photos that were published by La Fiamma in 1983, donated by the State Library of NSW to the Inner West Council, which digitised them, and which visitors will be able to see at La Fiamma's stand.
The photos are part of a collection of about five thousand images, many of which will be part of an exhibition planned to mark La Fiamma's 75th anniversary next year.
