It was 8:30 p.m., it was 90 degrees and I was at the Italian Festival.
Life was not good.
Hello, I'm Ryan Cormier, guest blogging for "Second Helpings," taking a break from my own blog, "Pulp Culture."
After having lived in Wilmington's Little Italy neighborhood for a few years when I first moved to the city, let's just say I have a few nights of the Italian Festival under my belt. And after last year, I told myself I wouldn't come back.
Why's that?
Well, after a certain hour, roving groups of teens or people in their early 20s -- I'll just call them The Undesirables -- take over. They have no interest in the festival, whether it be the food, the rides or the music. They are just there to roam around and give the stink-eye to other groups of teens or anyone else they deem stink-eye-worthy.
After hearing about this year's introduction of a $5 admission fee, I read between the lines. Organizers said they made the move to raise more money, but I have to think it was primarily an attempt to cut down on The Undesirables.
So I decided to head out tonight and see whether the $5 kept away the seemingly bored teens that have been drawn to the festival in recent years.
Before going over, I stopped in a Wilmington liquor store to stock up -- I knew I was going to need a cold beer after this assignment! -- and bumped into a friend.
I told him I was headed to the festival and wondered aloud whether the fee would attract a different crowd than year's past.
By the time my friend was out the door, the white-haired man behind the counter blurted out -- without a second's thought -- that it'll keep out a certain group of people. He identified that group by using a racial slur in Italian that, uh, you would hear regularly on, let's say, an episode of "The Sopranos."
He then went on to say those "punks" would stay away and wouldn't hit on the "white girls." Once I picked my jaw up off the ground, I drove away from that liquor store, making a mental note to never to go in there again.
But his reaction stuck with me, as you can imagine. And as I'm writing this, I want to make sure that I'm clear -- The Undesirables do not belong to one racial or ethnic group. I'm simply referring to the riffraff, no matter their background, who have time on their hands and trouble on their minds.
With that said, my Monday night didn't really answer any of my questions about the impact of entrance fee.
It was so really hot and there was a very light crowd, so it's hard to judge. But the teens who were there seemed to be actually enjoying the festival -- buying gelato and lemonade, riding the ferris wheel and trying to win prizes. The loiterers were few and far between.
Was it the $5 or the heat? I'm not sure. All I know is that tonight will probably be the slowest night at the festival, considering it was a Monday night and one of the hottest nights they will have all week.
With that elephant out of the room, I spent an hour at the festival with my camera:
First, I saw plenty of rides with fun names. I would have gone on one, but I'm a big baby when it comes to hurtling through the air...
Did I mention kids love me? I took these two photos as one of the rides flew by me at breakneck speed. Apparently, at least one kid was ready for the camera...
Just the thought of ingesting a funnel cake, Panzarotti or a big plate of spaghetti made sweat more, if that's humanly possible. The cool place to hit was the Cafe Gelato stand. That kid looks like he needs some gelato, STAT...
Let's just say the City Rhythms band at Surf Side Cafe didn't draw much of a crowd...
Hey, look! It's a Delaware celebrity! Republican Bill Lee, who is running for governor, was eating some pizza when he was accosted by an annoying reporter with a camera. (That would be me.) He was nice enough to let me take a photo of him with some of his staff and volunteers...
The Panzarotti tent was a tough place to work since they were serving tons of fried foods. I'm pretty sure the
My final stop was to visit the real heroes of the night -- the poor souls huddled around the funnel cake fryer, with its 375-degree oil bubbling every time batter was introduced. They (mostly) smiled through the work. I can attest it had to be the hottest spot in Wilmington. Here is the voyage of one funnel cake from start to finish...
And with that, I went home with my clothes completely drenched in sweat. I was only out there for an hour, so I must give a major tip of the hat to all the volunteers, police and merchants who stayed all night just so we could goof around and have a good time.
Good night....
-- Ryan Cormier
7 comments:
Go back to Pulp Culture and stop dirtying up this blog. It talks about intelligent stuff, not just criminals and farts like yours does.
No question...The Italian Festival organizers accomplished their goal of eliminating the rif-raf from the festival. But, guess what? At least 70 percent of those who attended the Festival must have been rif-raf because there is NO ONE at the festival. And, I mean NO ONE! There Tuesday night and the police were watching each other. The $5 cover has killed the Festival. It is dead DEAD,
Cormier, you take great pictures!
Poor Cormier!!! I wonder who is the bigger racist, the clown in the liquor store or you. You're idea of Italians comes from "The Soprano's". Stick to your Pulp Culture and leave real reporting to the pros. Last night, Wednesday, temp in the low eighties and packed with people in the La Piazza. Get over yourself.
Ryan, I thought your blog was delightful and refreshing, not to mention perfect spelling and excellent grammar. Rock on....
Cannot believe Ryan's rant about racism. Should have left it at riff-raff. How sad that this is published.
the $5 charge was symbolic. alot will pay for overpriced lousy italian food because its for a good cause, but dont rub our faces in it with an admission charge! after more than 30 years at arround 5 days attendance i did not bring my family this year. closing the church was the final insult with the candles outside.
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