The Sydney inner-west suburb of Leichhardt was transformed into one of Australia’s biggest outdoor events on Sunday, the annual Norton Street Italian Festival.
This year’s festa had a different vibe to past years as in excess of a hundred thousand attendees came predominantly around lunchtime. Crowds shied away from the traditional ‘main’ stage and old school stalls at the Town Hall end of the festa where singers such as Cosima De Vito and Claudio Sandrelli fought to entertain a small but steady captured audience.
The majority of people flooded the western end of the festa this year, where new adventures and opportunities better reflected current Italians, families and the inner westie festival goer.
New to this year’s festa was an ‘inner west’ themed area that featured eclectic food offerings and several walk in bar areas. The area was flanked by musical performances at, stalwarts, Rockstar School of Music and at the Crow Bar stage, based on the venue of the same name.
The obligatory Italian Made Social Motoring Club auto exhibition in the adjacent park accompanied an array of children’s rides however nearby was where the festival highlights occurred.
The indisputable centrepiece of this year’s festa was the inaugural Marketplace Leichhardt & Panetta Mercato Culinary Stage. The stage, which was brimming with celebrities and amazing food offerings, was being heaped with praise by festival goers all day.
The immense hospitality treated ticket holders to free flowing Aperol Spritz’s, Prosciutto cones, antipasto’s and Bocconcini Boats while being treated to a slew of celebrity chefs performing live cooking demonstrations and the highest level of hospitality all from your very own seat and table under an Aperol umbrella.
Put together by new business collective, Viva Leichhardt and supported by the NSW Government, the Marketplace Leichhardt & Panetta Mercato Culinary Stage featured an array of talent hosted by amicable online personality Dani Pirerello.
The stage opened with a cooking demonstration by TV star Anna Simon, with a recipe from Sydney’s first paninoteca’ Dom Panino, alongside founder Domenico (Dom) Ruggeri. Anna’s shiny personality won over fans who were keen to meet the star who even broke into an impromptu singing performance at the front of the stage.
Brunch was provided by Italian TV presenter, author, and singer Silvia Colloca, alongside Head Chef Nicole Bampton from Capriccio Osteria, Leichhardt. Demonstrating Spaghetti all’Assassina (Assassins Spaghetti), Silvia was at her culinary best, peppering her performance with her trademark sharp wit and warm charm. The audience had opportunities to win Silvia’s new cookbook ‘Italian Family Food’ where she invites people to cook cheaply and more healthily at home.
Visibly enjoying the experience, Silvia Colloca kept reappearing to share her love of food, joining Daniele and Alberto from La Stella Latticini and learn from Sydney’s premier cheesemakers, how to make mozzarella.
Colloca returned alongside Illario Ventolini, from Leichardt restaurant institution, Moretti’s! The feast did not stop there as Salami making and an aperitivo hour brought together an Italian experience like no other whilst sharing these cultural customs available to patrons year round at the venues that make up the Little Italy precinct.
Speaking to Allora, Silvia Colloca was delighted with the ‘Viva Leichardt’ offering saying how glad she was to be there. “Anything Italian…!” she said, throwing her hands up in a display of passion, insinuating that she wouldn’t miss it for the world.
