Play in the City : Festa Italiana!

My experience at Festa Italiana last night drove home the fact that summertime in Milwaukee simply rocks. In fact, it was one of the most fun nights I've had this summer!

The night was clear and cool and after our afternoon off, Dave and I were relaxed and in a great mood as we found parking downtown and walked the half-mile or so down to the festival grounds.

The crowd at Festa was pretty substantial, but not unmanageable like it can sometimes get at Summerfest. Plenty of people were sporting their Italy gear and I was glad I told Dave he should wear his "Italians Do It Better" shirt.

We walked up and down (and up and down) the grounds and commented on how random these events are. Here's some corn on the cob ("Festa Corn"), here's some gold jewelry for sale, here's a live cooking show, and here's a church exhibit. Would you like to get your face painted? Sing karaoke? How about listen to a corny cover band? Take your pick! There's certainly something for everyone.

One thing I just loved was the displays going on that we just happened upon now and then. First there was a small parade going by with drummers and flag throwers in leotards (I told Dave, there's something sexy about a man who can pull off leotards!), then there was a group of older Italian men and women dancing in a circle and singing songs. They were so lively and excited, inviting spectators to join their circle. Finally, there was a troupe of dancers wearing pretty dresses and crowns of flowers in their hair doing their own chants and dancing. I commented that it all reminded me of Epcot Center at Disney World where you go around to all the different countries and see stuff like this. It really got me in the spirit!

Then there was the food. Options were aplenty! Not willing to commit to anything until we knew what all our choices were, we didn't get food until we'd been there almost an hour and felt confident that we'd seen all the vendors.

It was a tough decision to make – fried eggplant, paninnis, cannolis, mostaccoli, lasagna, Italian sausage – and that was just entrees. Snacks included bruschetta, roasted nuts, roasted corn, stuffed pretzels. Desserts were abundant – éclairs, cream puffs, tiramisu, gelato, brownies, ice cream. Food is definitely number one at Festa Italiana. You didn't see many people without some sort of food in their hands (and faces) – ah, we Americans enjoy our food, don't we?

Rather than committing to just one item, we really indulged, pacing ourselves over three hours with three different food stops. Stop number one included bruschetta and deep fried ravioli. Stop number two was mostaccoli and meatballs for me and a chicken pannini for Dave. And stop number three was roasted pecans for Dave and Cedar Crest ice cream for me. This dish I had was the SMALL! Add all that to my giant margarita and Dave's three beers and, needless to say, we were quite full by the end of the night!

We'd seen it all and truly gorged ourselves, but we still had to wait for the fireworks, which were scheduled to start at 10:15. We found a good spot on the rocks near the lake and there we sat, a bit chilly, for the next 25 minutes. When it was still only 9:50 and we were getting pretty antsy, we decided to start heading back to the car and would watch them from outside the grounds. After being so far away for the July 3 fireworks, however, I certainly wasn't going to miss these!

We ended up in the small park in front of Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin. We spotted a bench and walked over, relieved to have that available to us instead of the pointy rock we'd just spent our time on. As we rounded the bench, I noticed something lying there. "Drum sticks!" I said and picked them up. My thoughts were that someone had forgotten them there.

But then - hey, wait – they're attached – oh – you're supposed to use them to play – the bench! So cool! I immediately dropped my purse in the grass and pounded that bench with the sticks, doing a little dance and laughing away.

When I'd had my fill, we took a seat – until I saw two kids turning something a few feet away at the base of one of those neat-looking, leaf-shaped, shiny things in front of Discovery World – they make tinkling sounds in the breeze, and they can be moved with little steering wheels below them. I ran over and tried it for myself – and it was tough!!

I loved that there were these random, hands-on things to do there – that is what Discovery World will be– a hands-on museum where adults and kids alike can play and learn.

As exactly 10:15, the first firework burst in the sky above us. We had the perfect spot – and they were spectacular. So loud, so bright, and constant – no lulls or single pops – just blast after bright blast. Fifteen minutes later, the grand finale included those LOUD, bright white booms that sound like canons being shot off one right after another. They were AWE-SOME and I couldn’t help but cheer when it was all over!

We took the scenic route back to our car – over the art museum bridge – and drove the few minutes home, completely satisfied with our evening. Summer rocks.

P.S. This is my 200th post. I debated doing another "100 Things" post – but decided against it. Dude, I've got things to do. Plus, I just don't think I'm interesting enough to have ANOTHER 100 things to list! But happy 200th post to me. J

Comments

That playable bench is wild.

If I may venture my opinion about the 100 things list...

I think you interesting enough to not have another 100 things list. Really, memes are just what happens when writers block hits, and by the looks of things, there's no chance of that happening any time soon. Great post.

Michele sent me today.

Posted by: Canadian Mark | July 22, 2006 at 11:03 AM

Ok, it's about 9:15am and I want Italian food so badly now! Those pics of the food look SO good!

I'm always amazed at the festivals you write about. I truly never knew how many festivals and events Milwaukee had going on during the summer months. I remember a post of yours a bit back saying that Milwaukee does summer. It seems that as the summer goes on, I find myself believing that more and more.

Posted by: Amanda | July 23, 2006 at 09:19 AM