You know how every small town has its own festival every year? Morganfield, the town where I grew up, had its annual Corn Festival this past weekend. I guess it's the closest thing to Redneck Festival they could come up with and still get people to come.
Coincidentally, Budoia, the equally small town where I currently live, had its 41st Festa dei Funghi (Mushroom Festival) this weekend.
The festival went on all weekend long, but yesterday was the biggest day. I walked downtown around 5:30, and it was packed. It was a typical small town festival, with games and booths full of food, crafts, wine, and, of course, mushrooms. I've never been a huge fan of mushrooms, but because the whole festival is held to celebrate them, I decided to purchase a small bag. I don't know how they were prepared, but they sure were good.
They even had a little band. I didn't recognise any of the tunes, but the Italians were all singing along and clapping.
Booths lined all of the narrow streets selling crafts, soap, honey, nativity scenes, jewellery, and lots of sacred art. One street had mostly cheese vendors, and the smell was so strong, I almost had to turn around. But I guess that's what good cheese is supposed to smell like.
Then, last night, there was a singer named Loretta Giorgi performing in the pavilion. I'd never heard of her, but the locals sure loved her. Everyone was eating and singing and dancing. I managed to strike up a few small conversations, but didn't get too far. Still, it's stuff like this that makes me feel even more at home here.
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