In a town built off of Sicilian Immigration, Blake Zeitman, the owner of Zeitman’s Grocery Store in Downtown Bryan, was shocked to learn that there were no Italian Festivals being held during the year. Inspired by the plethora of Italian-owned shops in downtown, Festa Italiana was born.
Growing up in Connecticut, there was an Italian festival almost every weekend, Blake says. He was very surprised to learn about the lack of Italian culture in Bryan with the type of history that the town possessed. So after pitching the idea of a festival to a few Italian families in town, the excitement for a new event spread like wildfire.
“I grew up on the East Coast,” Blake says. “A lot of Italian influence up there. I’ve also spent a lot of time in Italy. I’m not really Italian, but I’ve always had a love for Italian food, Italian cooking, and the language. I’ve been into Italian stuff before I even came to Bryan/College Station.”
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 10th, the streets of Bryan will be open for the community to enjoy some good food, good friends, and fun Italian activities.
“We have a lot of fun stuff planned,” Blake says. “We have the MCM Dance Studio coming to do traditional Italian dances, we have a DJ playing some traditional Italian music as well. We have a bounce house for the kids, face painters, pasta art, and all types of other activities there. We have a bocce ball tournament, double elimination with a cash prize, and we also have a pasta eating contest, one for 12 to 17-year-olds and one for adults.”
The pasta eating contest is being generously sponsored by Caffe Capri with sign-up happening the day of the event. The contest consists of half a pound of pasta in a bowl, everybody starting at the same time, and the winner takes all, Blake says. First place will take home a $200 cash prize.
If guests are hoping to grab a bite to eat during the event, there will be a wide variety of food vendors available to choose from. Mr. G’s Pizzeria will be selling pizza by the slice with gelato and Italian beers, Vino Bohem selling charcuterie boards, Boar’s Head and ReadField Meat and Deli have donated sausages that will be sold, and Zeitmans Grocery Store has donated bread, along with sausage and pepper sandwiches. All of the money will be going towards Poggioreale in America’s scholarship fund, Blake says.
The city of Bryan is rich in Italian history and for the first time has the opportunity to celebrate the unique culture. Grab your family and friends and head to the streets of Bryan on June 10th for the first-ever, Festa Italiana!
