Primavera party closes down street

Haberfield’s Primavera festival on Saturday enticed record crowds to indulge in authentic Italian fare.
With 22 cafes, delis and bakeries on Ramsay and Dalhousie Streets, the one-day event transformed the main drag into a vibrant street market showcasing the best of Italy.
The festival was part of Ashfield Council’s Feast of Flavours Food Festival series and allowed vendors of freshly-made produce to sell their wares out in the sunshine.
Peter Zuzza, owner of local restaurant La Disfida, participated in the festival for the first time last year. “It’s great to see new people coming to Haberfield,” he said. “They discover new restaurants and cafes and maybe find a new favourite eating destination. Everyone in the area is passionate about producing good food and it’s great to be a part of.”
This year’s Primavera was the biggest in its history, with parts of Ramsay Street blocked off to traffic for the first time, giving the event a distinctive community feel.
Event organiser Annie Coulthard spent three months working with local traders and businesses to get the event up and running. Now in its third year, the festival was partnered with Crave, the Sydney International Food Festival, to help bring interested foodies to Haberfield who had yet to discover the neighbourhood’s culinary charms.
“A lot of festivals around Sydney are the same, they all have the gozleme stall, hotdogs, curries,” she said. “This one is different. It is only local traders and so allows us to showcase the great food that only Haberfield has to offer.”
Besides the delicious food and drinks on offer, visitors were also treated to a performance by the Haberfield Public School Choir and local folk act Lolo Lovina, who played an eclectic mix of music in front of a self-styled gypsy caravan. And best of all, not a dodgy hotdog in sight.
Amongst the offerings at this year’s festival were hand-crafted chocolates, specialty meats, plenty of pastries, wine tasting and a range of freshly cooked Italian food. And most importantly, to match the beautiful sunny weather, lots of gelato.
Judging by the many happy Primavera visitors, if Haberfield was the Inner West’s best kept secret, it may not stay that way much longer.

by Max Halden