It's a milestone stone week for the Società Caruso as they host their 45th annual Italian Festival starting this Thursday, July 6 at the Caruso Club.
The festival kicks (and punches) off with some live pro wrestling Thursday evening featuring Sudbury's own proud Italian bruiser, Mark "Tornado" Bartolucci.
The official opening ceremony will be held on Friday, as Mayor Brian Bigger will make an official proclamation of Italia Days, followed by the opening of the regions of Italy food fair, a long-standing tradition at Italian Fest.
Friday evening features another Italian Fest favourite, as the youth contest will get underway at 7:30 p.m. and a new Mister, Miss and Little Miss Caruso will be crowned.
Pageants not your thing? There will be live entertainment outdoors as well as a foosball tournament happening on Friday. Registration for foosball is $30 for a team of two.
Something brand new to this year's festival is foosball on a larger scale, in the form of a human foosball tournament that kicks off on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m.
"We're still taking registrations for players and teams for the human foosball tournament," said Claudia Manoni, one of the Italian Festival organizers. "It's $5 to enter individually or $25 to enter a team of six people."
While the festival will feature a number of long-standing favourites, Manoni says there's been a bit of a shift in focus to get the younger children involved.
"When I was a kid we used to go to the Richard Lake Italian Festival and it was always so much fun and there was always a lot to do," said Manoni. "We're trying to make sure there's lots for the younger kids because they're the ones who are going to carry on the traditions of Italians in Sudbury when they get older."
Live entertainment with performances from Lina Sanchioni & Silvio Ferucci, Natalie Crispo, Nadia Costanza, and The Cooperative will all be happening outside on Saturday, and the 45th anniversary concert will be happening inside starting at 7:30 p.m. with live music, a DJ and dancing all night long.
"We'll also have some old favourites like the fish pond, and pasta fest," said Manoni. "We're putting down synthetic grass out in the parking lot as well so it's more kid-friendly for them to play."
For a full schedule of Italian Festival events, check out their Facebook page.
