24 May 2010

Primo Italiano Festival 2010, East Sydney (23 May 2010)

Stanley, Yurong and Riley Streets

Celebrating our first little Italy

Primo Italiano is a street event organised by the City of Sydney and a celebration of all things Italian. It salutes our first little Italy in East Sydney and aims to bring the authentic tastes and sounds of Italy to Stanley, Yurong, Crown and Riley Streets. The weather was wet to start with but this didn't deter many venturing in to enjoy the stalls and free entertainment. Thankfully towards the end of the day the clouds parted so the atmosphere could be enjoyed without umbrellas all bumping into each other. The street artists this year were fun and interesting and the famed Ferrero Rondnoir stall was giving out plenty of free chocolates just like they did at Taste of Sydney. I ended up having a cheap and cheerful lunch at Bill & Toni's Restaurant which I'll blog about shortly — they're still serving up their free carafes of orange cordial.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Free entertainment, Fun street artists and performers, Food stalls and free tastings
CONS: Impossible parking situation so best not to drive, Weather permitting and umbrella chaos
MUST TRY: Visiting Signorelli Gastronomia

Fountain of Italian colours

Early crowds against the weather


I loved the simplicity of the Sydney City Farm card


Festival posters


Complimentary Ferrero Rondnoir chocolates stall



Wandering street artists and performers

J & C Zavaglia stall — Zucchini Flowers $5

Bambini kids pasta cooking classes

6 comments:

Phuoc'n Delicious said...

Damn... I always miss out on it. Looks like you had fun. Maybe next year... I remember there was a wedding last year, none this year?

joey@forkingaroundsydney said...

I'm glad you went to this Simon! I took one look at the weather and decided to stay home and catch up on TV. :-) Looks good though, if only the weather was more co-operative.

Jim said...

It looks like a great festival. Shame about the weather.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

Tina said...

I was going to go, but the morning's rain completely put me off. Was it bigger than last year's?

OohLookBel said...

Good to see that the rain didn't put a dampener on things, haha! Have you been to Signorelli Gastronomia yet? It's a fantastic spot, full of good food and wine and cheese.

Simon Leong said...

hi phuoc, no wedding this year that i saw but plenty of street artists to keep people amused and some stage shows which i missed.

hi joey, i was thinking it was going to be a disaster too but thankfully the clouds parted. phew!

hi J Bar, such is life with outdoor festivals but at least it kept the crowds down as well so was easier to get to the stalls and check our tasty free samplings :-)

hi tina, i think the weather kept most people away but it did take up just as much space as last year and there were some interesting food stalls. Beppi's had dishes for only $5 as samples.

hi bel, i haven't been to signorelli as yet but really want to now. sounds like my kind of place to visit and enjoy :-)

Simon Food Favourites Map

View Simon Food Favourites in a larger map Key: BLUE - Location visit and review PINK - Simon Favourites and places offering something special

Small Bars in Sydney map


View Small Bars in Sydney in a larger map