On Sunday we went to have a look at Festitalia, an Italian Festival held this year at Spencer Park in Brisbane, which “celebrates the richness of the Italian culture in its entirety, from the spirit and passion of its people to the romance of its language, its inimitable fashion, the radiance of its arts to the luscious wines and regional dishes acclaimed the world over” (visit http://www.festitalia.com.au/ for more info).
From the wonderful cars (Lambourghini, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Fiat) to the lovely food stalls (woodfired pizza, calamari, lasagna, cannoli, gelato); from the beautiful Venetian face masks to the tarantella dancers and Italian flag throwers; from the cooking demonstrations to the wine appreciation sessions, it was a great chance to experience and appreciate just a little of what Italy has to offer. (My brother-in-law is Italian, so we were in good hands for the day 🙂 )
The flag throwers were spectacular with their colourful costumes and huge flags, which they tossed and (mostly!) caught with ease – have a look at these action shots:
I was particularly impressed with this young man, who managed to juggle THREE of the huge flags, throwing them up and catching them with each hand and one leg or the other with equal dexterity: pretty amazing!
(Trying to actually capture shots of throwers with flags in the air – I always seemed to be too early or too late – has given me new respect for the likes of sports photographers who get those amazing action shots! 🙂 )
Tonight my sister and I are off to something just a little different … her daughter gave her a voucher for a “Cork and Chroma” night, so we’re off to work on our creativity! Here’s a picture of what we’re supposed to be painting (from scratch) tonight:
Given that on a scale of 1 to 10, I’ve always rated my drawing and painting skills at about -5, you may or may not get to see the result of my endeavours … 🙂
Arrivederci!
Me 'n' Henry Lee 