Outdoors with Don Q: Have fun at the Eldorado Great Italian Festival
Submitted by editor on Thu, 10/08/2015 - 3:55pm
Saturday, Oct. 10 and Sunday, Oct. 11 are the dates for the 34th Annual Eldorado Great Italian Festival on North Virginia Street in downtown Reno. If you have never attended the festival, you have missed out on a great way to enjoy a Saturday or Sunday (or both) in early October.
Be sure to mark your calendar for a fun-filled time that weekend.
Of all the many fall season activities in this general area, the Italian Festival is our personal favorite, and we try to attend every year.
Virginia Street in the area of the Eldorado Hotel/Casino is transformed into a version of Little Italy, with fun-filled activities which include such things as:
01. A grape stomping contest (one of my favorite things to watch).
However, be advised not to stand too close to the contestants or you, too, will be wearing purple on your face and clothing.
02. A spaghetti sauce cooking contest (with their great smelling aromas).
03. Free, live musical entertainment at many of the street corners from about 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., each of the two days.
Our favorites are the musical groups that play and sing Italian songs.
Some of this year's entertainers include Paul Anka (in concert October 10), Italica, Duo Domino, Primo Basso Band, Saltoriya and Aaron Caruso.
04. Costumed entertainers walking around on giant stilts.
I get a kick out of having my photo taken with the various people on their stilts and especially with the entertainer and his pet monkey.
05. Booths selling all kinds of interesting things.
Elaine's all-time favorite purchase is the T-shirt that she bought one year, which says on the back: "Pray for me, I married an Italian."
06. Booths offering traditional Italian food such as: Pastas, meatball and sausage sandwiches, Calamari (which we both love to eat), garlic bread, etc.
07. Strolling through the huge crowd that fills the street from sidewalk to sidewalk.
It is amazing to me, how many people you will recognize in that huge gathering.
08. A farmer's market with all different kinds of fruit and vegetables.
If you want fresh vegetables like garlic and artichokes, this will be the place.
Finally:
Be sure to set aside the weekend of October 10-11 to attend the latest version of the Eldorado Great Italian Festival in Reno. It will be lots of good fun, good food, good drinks and good companionship.
I guarantee it and we are looking forward to being there. And, pray for good weather on the weekend.
Bet Your Favorite Pigeon.
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can't tell you what is unique about Don Q.
If he grins and says, "Well for starters, Don is a full-blooded Italian, but he can't speak Italian, he can't understand Italian, he can't read Italian and he is allergic to garlic," he could be one of my relatives or a close friend.
It's true: I'm a full-blooded Italian and allergic to garlic.
— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now. Don's wife, Elaine, is the Outdoor photographer. They live in Carson City and can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com
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