Brisbane Is About To Enter Its Pasta And Spritz Era As Festa Italiana Returns
If your personality peaks somewhere between “Aperol Spritz at sunset” and “ordering three pastas for the table because sharing is caring”, then congratulations, Festa Italiana is officially your Super Bowl.
For two glorious weekends, Howard Smith Wharves will once again transform into a carb-loaded Italian fever dream complete with riverside spritz bars, giant bowls of pasta, cheesy goodness and enough limoncello to convince you you’re fluent in Italian after two drinks.
Running from May 28 to June 7, the free-entry festival is bringing back all the chaotic Euro summer energy Brisbane collectively loses its mind over every year. There’s live music, roaming performers, mozzarella stretching, Italian street food and crowds passionately debating whether pizza or pasta is the superior carb. Spoiler alert: the answer is both.
This year’s lineup is seriously stacked too. Acclaimed Italian chef Orazio D’Elia will be slinging his famous Rigatoni alla Vodka, while iconic Amalfi Coast restaurant Conca del Sogno is making its Australian debut. This is honestly a sentence nobody expected to read without boarding an international flight first.
Then there’s the drinks. Oh, the drinks. Expect oversized Aperol Spritzes, frozen limoncello cocktails, Bellinis, Hugo Spritzes and the dangerously easy-to-drink Sgroppino, a magical combination of lemon sorbet, prosecco and vodka that tastes like bad decisions in the best possible way.
And because no Italian festival is complete without dessert, Gelato Messina will also be serving up exclusive festival flavours designed to send your lactose tolerance into early retirement.
For more details, visit howardsmithwharves.com.
Save The Date
Weekend 1
Thursday 28 May / 4pm – late
Friday 29 May / 4pm – late
Saturday 30 May / 11am – late
Sunday 31 May / 11am – late
Weekend 2
Thursday 4 June / 4pm – late
Friday 5 June / 4pm – late
Saturday 6 June / 11am – late
Sunday 7 June / 11am – late
