Il Carnival, in Sicily, it's not a simple party. It is a collective ritual, an excuse to go out, laugh, disguise, exaggerate a little. But to Avola - That jewel overlooking the sea, famous for the almond and the Nero D’Avola wine - the Carnival has something more.
It is made of hands kneaded in glue and in the papier -mâché, of pungent irony and a spirit of community.
A carnival born from below (and from the hands)
Unlike many events organized "from above", the Avola Carnival was born from below. From the neighborhoods, from the groups of friends, from the families who get together to build a chariot, sew a costume. It is not just a matter of "parading", but to say one's own. Each chariot is a stance, a thought shouted with colors, music and parody.
There is satire, there is current affairs, but also nostalgia and desire to dream. And every year, punctual, there is that cart that makes everyone laugh - and maybe even reflect.
A place of honor among the Carnival of Italy
Over the years the Avola Carnival has earned a special place among the Most loved and characteristic carnival of Italy. While not having the media dimensions of events such as those of Viareggio or Venice, he manages to stand out for the authenticity of popular involvement, the quality of his allegorical creations and the unique atmosphere that is breathed in the streets of the exonebage. A genuine event, which tells a true piece of Sicily.
A highly anticipated event in Eastern Sicily
The Avola Carnival is characterized as one of the most followed events in Eastern Sicily for Carnasciale events.
The party sees the parade every year King carnival through the streets of the city followed by Avola band, and throughout the period sports events, the parade of allegorical floats, infiorati and masked groups, artists and street music, straws and burlons, moments of animation for the little ones, disco and music in the square, combining moments of leisure with moments of culture, and thanks to the commitment of the local associations and the municipal administration, the participation, every year, of important names of the national and international musical parterre that fill the streets of the city of the exagono.
Not only wagons: a living party
The streets of the center are filled with people, including confetti, sweet scents and music shot from the coffers. Children run in masked, adults let themselves go (finally), tourists look at everything with somewhat incredulous eyes. Because in Avola the carnival is not a show: it is participation. You are not a spectator, you are inside.
And then there are the live performances, the dance competitions in the square, the folk groups that suddenly appear, as if they were there by chance - but they are never by chance.
The taste never fails
If there is one thing that cannot be missing in Avola is food. Carnival is also an opportunity to eat without too many guilt: chatter, almond desserts, hot arancini just fried, grilled sausage that is felt meters away. A party for the palate, other than.
An identity that resists and reinvented
Despite the changes, globalization, social networks and everything else, the Avola carnival continues to be a party that belongs to people, the spirit is the same as once: telling each other, laughing together, finding yourself. Even for a few days.
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