The forty second annual Italian family celebrationwhich takes place on Saturday and Sunday, August third – fifth, at History Park in San Jose, features grape stomping, pizza dough throwing, live music, bocce, a cultural zone with regional costumes, a Roman camp…
And loads of food, wine and beer.
Look for the Tricarico Club's sausage polenta and the Sons of Sicily's sausage ravioli. Tony and Alba's will likely be selling pizza slices. Members of the sponsoring Italian American Heritage Foundation will likely be making meatball sandwiches and filling cannoli to order.
Aroma Concessions offers portobello mushroom sandwiches, eggplant pesto sandwiches, fried artichokes and fried zucchini. The Risotto booth sells bruschetta, caprese and fruit cups. And King Cobb Corn makes Italian-style corn on the cob with Alfredo pecorino sauce and basil.
Chef John D'Ambrosio of Giorgio's and the New York Sausage Co. will mix pizza dough and share kitchen stories at 1 p.m. Saturday on the Cultural & Culinary Pavilion. At noon Sunday, Chef Joe Lucito of Giorgio's will show a pasta and asparagus dish at the identical location.
Five wineries will likely be pouring their varietals within the shaded wine tasting garden – Bargetto, Fortino, Guglielmo, Rosa d'Oro and Tansy Wines from Shelley Lindgren, owner of A16 restaurant. Lindgren is co-author of “Italian Wine: The History, Regions and Grapes of an Iconic Wine Country.”
New this 12 months is the Italian Sfizio Pilsner from Fort Point Beer Company.
Specialty food vendors' stalls offer salami, jam, biscotti, dried pasta, olives, oil and vinegar, dried fruit, nuts, honey, toffee, cookies and more.
Details: Limited free and metered parking is accessible near History Park, 1650 Senter Road; carpooling and ridesharing are encouraged. Maps and event calendar can be found at www.italianfamilyfestasj.org.
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