Rocco’s Pizza at the San Gennaro Festival
One of my favorite things about the Summer / Fall season is the abundance of food and music festivals. All over Southern California we are treated to festivals covering about every range and culture. The third weekend of September (Specifically the 19th of September), we are treated to a festival that is fairly unheard of here on the west coast. The Feast of San Gennaro
Rocco’s Pizza owner and Festival Founder. Photo by Iliana Duarte
Originally started in Little Italy in Manhattan (NY), the Feast of San Gennaro is a celebration of the Italian culture. Bringing over the tradition of San Gennaro (Januarius), Italians (and food lovers alike) partake in this wonderful tradition. To be honest, I think any tradition that brings together people of all types is always a welcome one. Even if at the time I had heard of it, i knew nothing of what it was about, I knew it was going to be a good one. Taking place the third weekend in September (traditionally September 19th), this show spanned three days. Summer in Hollywood was going to be a good one indeed.
A little view of the main walkway
This festival, really peaked my interest when i first heard of it. I mean. Who doesn’t like Italian Food and the culture? If there’s one thing anyone can say about them, is that they are very passionate, and put their soul into what they do. From the food to their exotic cars, time and love goes into all of those things. You could say it’s the Latin way. As soon as i heard of this, i knew i had to be there. Staged in the middle of Hollywood and just down the street to Mann’s Chinese Theater, this festival definitely had the location down. And, turning the corner going into the show, they had the flavor down as well. From the smells of simmering basil and tomatoes to the sound of pouring beer, this show was a feast for the senses. As a lover of food, the biggest question on my mind was trying to figure out what food i wanted to eat first. Was it going to be pizza, pasta, meatball subs or any variety of mouth-watering carbs and protein. There’s just so much to choose from. I’d have to guess though, the highlight of the night were the cannoli’s for sale. If you have never had one of these Italian sweet treats, you owe it to yourself to try it out. Definitely one of the tastiest and rich deserts you’ll ever have. Como il cacio sui maccheroni!
Rocco’s Pizza doing what they do best. Picture by Iliana Duarte
With funky jazz playing on the main stage, and happy folks waiting at the information booths to chat it up with you, this show was just great. The atmosphere was very welcoming, and you could see a general sense of happiness on everyone’s face. What better way to spend a weekend. I was pretty happy to have heard of it, and definitely can’t wait until the next one. Who knows. Maybe next time, we’ll make it out to the one in Las Vegas, or the grand daddy of them all in New York. Here’s to the next one. Altro Che!!
Italian Zeppole’s. Photo by Iliana Duarte
The band plays it’s heart out on stage
A little more pizza up close. Photo by Iliana Duarte
Galbani. A major sponsor of this show
Bust of San Januarius near the entrance
More pizza shots from Rocco’s Pizza
Italian love everyone
Spreading the sauce. Photo by Iliana Duarte
Check out a little of what we saw at this year’s show in Hollywood. If you want to go to the next one, definitely check out their website for more information
Words by Daniel Navarrete
Photos by Daniel Navarrete and Iliana Duarte
-Spektrum Magazine
Tags: awesomesauce, badass, carnival, culture, expo, fans, festival, food, foodie, foodlife, foodporn, italian, italy, la, laconvention, lifestyle, san gennaro, spektrum, spektrummag, spektrummagazine
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