Today is the day so many Bradfordians have been waiting for — the opening day of Festa Italiana.
“Everything, believe it or not, is ready to go,” festa committee president Tom Brown told The Era late Wednesday. “The crews worked really well getting everything ready.
“Last Saturday, we did 6,700 meatballs,” Brown continued, speaking of the men of La Stella Lodge, “and 700 pounds of Italian sausage. Sunday we made 10 kettles of sauce. We make so many kettles of wedding soup and pasta fagioli.”
Not to mention the muffaletta sandwiches and all the other delicious fare. And the women of the lodge have been busy with eggplant, fried dough, wans and all the other goodies.
“Sometimes we have leftovers,” Brown said. “Last year we had quite a bit because of the rain. If we don’t sell it we usually take it to the Friendship Table.”
It’s a lot of work getting ready for the annual festival — which has become a reunion of sorts for many native Bradfordians.
“I like to see the people down there when it gets going,” Brown said, adding that he enjoys every part of the festival, from the planning to the preparations and the festival itself.
“We had so many (people) there (Tuesday) night putting up the tents I had to buy eight party trays of pizza to feed them,” he said with a laugh.
And at the end of the festival, he enjoys the fireworks. “That means it’s done,” he added, chuckling.
“Then it’s all over until Sunday morning. We start cleanup at 8 and get it all down by noon,” Brown said.
Then it’s a one-month vacation from Festa planning until the process starts all over again.
“I enjoy my committee members,” Brown said. “They are very hard workers and very serious about what they do. They work well together to get the stuff done. There’s a lot of camaraderie between them.”
Each year, the funds raised at the festival go back into the community, to the organizations that volunteer — so it is a community festival in every sense of the word. And it has been for a very long time.
Brown did some research on the origin of Festa Italiana, and was surprised at what he found.
“Back in 1902, they had a celebration of St. Rocco’s Day,” he said. “They had a 30-piece band. They used to march up Main Street, and up Main Street in Lewis Run.”
It wasn’t called the Italian Festival back then. The festival in that form was around for 44 years, Brown said. It had some fits and starts before becoming what it is today.
“The roots go back to 1902,” Brown said. He said each year, the City of Bradford helps out in various ways, with the police, fire department and streets crews giving invaluable assistance.
The festival opens at 4 p.m. today, with the grand opening ceremony at 6 p.m. with Stan Pecora as master of ceremonies.
