Festa Pasta Vino, Heart of Italy, June 16-18

Festa Pasta Vino

June 16-18
Friday 5:00pm - 11:00pm
Saturday Noon - 11:00pm
Sunday Noon - 9:00pm

Free admission. Free parking.

Each June the neighborhood restaurants are featured in Chicago’s largest and most popular celebration of Italian culture....

Fun filled contests, music, and culinary demonstrations turned a Chicago neighborhood into ancient Italy. Columns, statues, and fountains surrounded the sunny outdoor festival in celebration of 4 days of fine food, magnificent wine, and unparallel company. The streets came alive with a kid's activity area, food tasting, cannoli eating contest, and free concert performances

My daughter and I went to this festa, which, if it were your only introduction to Italian food, would lead you to conclude that we of the boot eat mostly deep-fried carbohydrates.

That said, I dug the event -- though it brought to mind what a blue-eyed lederhosen-wearing college acquaintance of mine said after seeing Satryicon, he said "I dunno. Too Italian." I wasn't offended, of course, because I knew what he meant. In my case, however, that's why I liked it.

At the festa, I felt way out of place not wearing a wife-beater and a tricolor hat -- but the people were friendly, the guy singing Louie Prima tunes was sincere, and it was a kind of slice...the kind I like.

Hammond