Norton Street fires up for Festa
It might not be the undisputed centre of Sydney’s Italian community as it once was, but Leichhardt’s Norton Street still has more than a hint of ‘Viva Italia’ to it – and that spirit will be on show for all to revel in at this year’s Italian Festa.
The Festa, to be held between October 29 and 31 all along Norton Street, is a long-running “celebration of Italian culture”, taking in music, fashion, film and food. Events take place on all three days, with the strip being closed for the main ‘Festa’ day on Sunday.
One of the highlights of the program is ‘Musica e Passione’ – an evening of Italian music at the recently-completed Italian Forum Cultural Centre, including works from Puccini, Madame Butterfly and Tosca. Amongst the performers will be Melbourne Opera Baritone, Matthew Henrick, who previously performed at the Festa in 2003, after an organiser spotted him singing at Luna Blu Restaurant (now Tuscany Ristorante). “The option to do a wonderful opera program with a group of fantastic performers like Adele Johnstone, Warren Fisher and Domenica Matthews is absolutely fantastic and something I’m very much looking forward to,” he said.
Other features of the program include an Italian grandparents’ cooking challenge; a chess tournament with living players based on a 15th century love duel; free screenings of movies under the stars; performances of the ‘Tarantella’ dance; a fashion parade; and a gelato eating competition, alongside a range of Italian regional food experiences.
