It’s no shock for issues to get slightly creaky if you get into your 40s. However that hasn’t been the case for the Italian Household Festa, which rolls out its forty third version at Historical past Park this Saturday and Sunday.
If something, the cultural celebration has appeared extra energetic and more energizing than ever because the Italian American Heritage Basis — which is marking its fiftieth anniversary this yr — introduced it again from a two-year, COVID-imposed hiatus in 2022.
The largest attracts for the Festa nonetheless stay the music and meals, and that’s actually no totally different this yr with performers from Opera San Jose, the Joe DeRose Quartet and the Millennium Sounds Orchestra within the weekend lineup. And meals? Effectively, for those who weren’t fortunate sufficient to seize tickets to this weekend’s offered out Gilroy Garlic Pageant, it is best to be capable of scratch that itch (alongside along with your pizza, sausage, ravioli and cannoli itches).
Juan Munoz, of Giorgio’s Italian Meals and Pizzeria, tosses pizza dough in the course of the annual Italian Household Festa at Historical past Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Space Information Group)
Mayor of Morgan Hill Mark Turner competes within the grape stomp towards Mayor of Santa Clara Lisa Gillmor, and Mayor of Saratoga Yan Zhao in the course of the annual Italian Household Festa at Historical past Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Space Information Group)
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan , proper, high-fives his teammate, Angelina Gorini-Ramirez, 17, of San Jose, earlier than the beginning of a grape stomping competitors with Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Milpitas Mayor Carmen Montano in the course of the Italian Household Fiesta at Historical past Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. Mahan received the competition adopted by Montano and Gillmor in final place. (Ray Chavez/Bay Space Information Group)
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, left, takes half in a grape stomping competitors with Milpitas Mayor Carmen Montano and Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor in the course of the Italian Household Fiesta at Historical past Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. Mahan received the competition adopted by Montano and Gillmor in final place. (Ray Chavez/Bay Space Information Group)
Radio host Lissa Kreisler, left, declares the town mayors from San Jose, Matt Mahan, again left, Milpitas, Carmen Montano, and Santa Clara, Lisa Gillmor, proper, earlier than the beginning of a grape stomping competitors in the course of the Italian Household Fiesta at Historical past Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Space Information Group)
Singer Michela Musolino, heart, performs in the course of the Italian Household Festa at Historical past Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Space Information Group)
Singer Michela Musolino, heart, performs in the course of the Italian Household Fiesta at Historical past Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Space Information Group)
Opera singers Melissa Sondhi, left, and Joshua Sanders sing La Traviata in the course of the Italian Household Fiesta at Historical past Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Space Information Group)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 20: Robert Rivera serves cannolis on the Italian Household Festa, again at Historical past Park following a two-year hiatus, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, in San Jose, Calif. That is the fortieth yr for the pageant, which is sponsored by the Italian American Heritage Basis of San Jose, and wraps up on Sunday. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
Anda Chu/Bay Space Information Group
The Italian and American flags fly facet by facet in the course of the Italian Household Festa at Historical past Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019. The thirty ninth annual weekend pageant that celebrates Italian tradition is sponsored by the Italian American Heritage Basis. (Anda Chu/Bay Space Information Group)
Mike Costanza, from San Jose, stirs a pot of sauce in the course of the annual Italian Household Festa at Historical past Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. Costanza is a member of Sons of Sicily which celebrates Sicilian heritage. (Shae Hammond/Bay Space Information Group)
Guests seize a chunk on the Italian Household Festa at Historical past Park in San Jose in 2016. The festa returns to the venue for this yr’s celebration, Aug. 26-27, 2017. (Picture by Ernie Murata/Italian American Heritage
Basis)
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Juan Munoz, of Giorgio’s Italian Meals and Pizzeria, tosses pizza dough in the course of the annual Italian Household Festa at Historical past Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Space Information Group)
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It’s additionally at all times enjoyable to look at chef John D’Ambrosio fling pizza dough by way of the air — and educate others to come back fairly shut — or to relax within the wine-tasting backyard.
However the enjoyable spotlight that’s actually taken off within the final couple of years is the Celeb Mayor Grape Stomp, which options lots of the political bigfoots in Santa Clara County.
This yr’s lineup is anticipated to incorporate San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor, Milpitas Mayor Carmen Montano, Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein and Morgan Hill Mayor Mark Turner. I’ve additionally heard that former Stanford and 49ers quarterback John Paye is tossing his toes into the ring, er, bucket.
Guglielmo Vineyard in Morgan Hill — which is celebrating its personal a centesimal anniversary this yr — has been a part of the occasion for greater than 25 years. Gene Guglielmo, who runs the vineyard together with his brother, Winemaker George Guglielmo, says it’s been an honor to contribute an important a part of the grape stomp — the grapes — every year.
“It’s one of the most anticipated traditions — full of laughter, cheers, and yes, purple feet — and watching local celebrities jump into the barrels always draws a crowd,” Guglielmo mentioned. “It’s a joyful nod to our winemaking roots and a celebration of Italian heritage that never gets old.”
There are a number of rounds of the grape stomp scheduled on each Saturday and Sunday, together with some for non-celebrity toes. Yow will discover out when — in addition to get the remainder of the exercise lineup — at www.italianfamilyfestasj.org. By the best way, there’s one other signal that the pageant is maintaining with the instances: all of the pageant data — together with music, meals, parking and a venue map — is on a smartphone app.
The pageant kicks off with a gap ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday and runs till 7 p.m. then continues Sunday from 11 a.m. to five p.m. Admission is free, however parking is $10 on the Historical past Park parking zone and could also be restricted so carpooling is usually recommended.
TECH AFTER DARK: It’s humorous to suppose that the children who visited the Tech Interactive in downtown San Jose again within the late Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s are actually grown-ups and sure mother and father themselves. That’s the age-group the Tech is zeroing in on for the newest version of its “Tech at Nite” occasion on Thursday.
You’ll have to depart the children at residence for the over-21 social gathering, which begins at 8 p.m. and runs till 11. Throughout that point, the grown-ups can have full run of the Tech reveals. In addition they can get artful with a Nineteen Nineties-inspired Pom-Pom Celebration Artwork Workshop led by Sarah Galaxy with Native Colour or participate in a Science of Whiskey Tasting workshop led by the award-winning crew at tenth Road Distillery.
There’ll be applicable tunes from the period, curated by Common Grammar, too. Extra particulars and tickets for “Tech at Nite: Rewind” can be found at www.thetech.org/techatnite.
CHEERS: The Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Membership added to its lengthy and illustrious historical past on Monday when the MVLA Gunners, its under-16 women group, received the Elite Golf equipment Nationwide League championship in Richmond, Va. The group — led by goal-scorers Chloe Miller, Sophie McCarthy and Isabella Bertolucci and goalkeeper Anneliese Braun — defeated a group from Kansas Metropolis 3-1.
Based because the Los Altos Soccer Membership in 1972, MVLA’s notable alumni embrace Bay FC defender Abby Dahlkemper, former Earthquakes participant Joe Cannon (now MVLA’s government director) and Bay FC Coach Albertin Montoya, who’s MVLA’s director of teaching.
