San Diego’s Colorful Little Italy Neighborhood Sets the Stage for all Things Sicilian

Bella Sera presents Emmy Award Winning Chef Giada De Laurentiis as part of this year’s exciting line-up of events

The music, dance, culture and cuisine of Sicily come to the streets of San Diego's Little Italy neighborhood on Sunday, May 22, 2011, 10 am-6 pm, as part of the 18th Annual SICILIAN FESTIVAL celebration.

The highly popular FREE family event features authentic Sicilian food and entertainment, surrounded by the colorful ambiance of the Little Italy neighborhood, located within walking distance of the beautiful San Diego harbor and within minutes of San Diego’s downtown district.

Headlining this year’s festival will be Emmy award winning chef Giada De Laurentiis, presented by Bella Sera Wines. With an impressive background of culinary training and a unique personable charm, she is a globally revered celebrity chef who continues to prove her skill and accessibility with the great success of her cookbooks, brand alliances, newly launched food products and recurring role on the "Today Show." Giada will conduct a cooking demonstration and book-signing at the Festival at 2:30 pm on the Date Street Stage.

Food booths representing the many restaurants in Little Italy will line the streets to satisfy the hungry crowds by serving up Sicilian specialties of all varieties. Tarantino’s Sausages will also be on hand to serve up some of the best Italian sausages in the nation. Peroni, the official beer sponsor of the Sicilian Festival, will feature a Peroni Nastro Azzurro, the #1 Premium brand in Italy imported from Rome, in the beer and wine pavilion. Peroni Nastro Azzurro the #1 Premium brand in Italy imported from Rome. A pasta-eating contest will also highlight the day’s activities.

Four stages will feature non-stop Italian and Sicilian entertainment. At 11:30 am,, a procession of dozens of costumed dancers, musicians, and representatives of the City and County of San Diego and the many San Diego Italian organizations, will parade through the streets carrying flags from the different regions of Sicily and Italy.

People will be literally dancing in the streets, and no wonder. The Festival is delighted to welcome direct from New York, award-winning singer Cristina Fontanelli – the “voice of Domino’s Pizza” on the national radio commercial–who has become a well-known personality through her recordings, her appearances on TV, radio, in concert, nightclubs, and opera, and through her recent acting debut on network television.

The event also features the nationally acclaimed Roman Holiday Ensemble which will be on hand with their costumed musicians and dancers to provide a lively show of Sicilian and Italian music. Other popular acts include Sinatraville, hit music from the Sinatra era presented by Peter Pavone and his orchestra; the Screamin’ Primas in a lively salute to Sicilian-American trumpeter and bandleader Louie Prima and Sicilian Swing’s New Orleans Italian jazz sound, among other notable Italian-themed acts on four stages.

The Sicilian Festival is also the perfect venue for families with children. All children’s activities are FREE, and include a large inflatable slide, puppet theatre shows, face painting, and many other activities to keep the bambini entertained throughout day—without emptying their parents’ pocketbooks!

A Sicilian cultural tent will feature photo and cultural displays by local and national authors and artisans that reflect the Sicilian American heritage in San Diego. The area will also feature displays of such venerable Sicilian traditions as fish net repair, produce and fish markets, and more. A wine vat will also be available for a traditional grape stomp, courtesy of the Bernardo Winery, the oldest winery in Southern California, founded in 1889 by five Sicilian partners.

Free street parking is available throughout the Little Italy neighborhood. Free parking is available in the north lot of the County Administration Building, with a free shuttle to the Festival. The AMTRAK station is less than a mile from the Sicilian Festival area and can be reached either by foot or by using the San Diego Trolley. Take the MTS Trolley’s Blue Line to the County Center/Little Italy Station. And there’s free parking at many of the Trolley’s park-and-ride lots (especially Qualcomm Stadium). Also, on weekends, two children (12 and under) ride free with a paid adult (18 and over). Little Italy is the first stop on the blue line north.

For more information, log onto the Sicilian Festival website at www.sicilianfestival.org

High resolution photos of the Festival and official photos of Giada De Laurentiis can be downloaded at this site: http://www.sicilianfestival.smugmug.com/