The idea
Festa Italia is an entirely free event in Lancaster. This event showcases all the best of Italian cuisine, engineering & entertainment. Attracting over 100,000 visitors to the city in the last 2 years, Cinema Italiano and Complitaly will once again be attendance to give an international audience to Lancaster At Festa Italia we provide entertainment throughout the day, from Opera & traditional Italian dance to our Bambino Zone with activities aimed at our younger visitors. This is paired with super cars/bikes from Ferrari, Ducati, MKV Augusta, Lambretta and Vespa for those with an interest in something speedier! We limit the number of stalls at the event so that both the stall holders and businesses in the city can benefit and capitalize on the crowds. After last years success we will once again be hosting our concert in the square on the Saturday evening with the main event on the Sunday. As always we will continue to collaborate with the council to make this event safe & successful.
What we'll deliver
- A varied range of high calibre entertainment including Bambino Zone
- Sound equipment and staging for the event
- Authentic Italian Food and drink stalls
- High brand names such as Ferrari, Ducati, MV Augusta
- Liaising with local businesses and council
- Collaboration with local schools and dance schools
- International coverage and publicity for the biggest Italian festival in the North West
- Increased numbers in footfall and spending to the city
- Access to arts and culture
- All inclusive free event
Why it's a great idea
Lancaster Festa Italia is the biggest Italian event in the Northwest. It is an entirely free to attend event, accessible for all, with activities and entertainment for everyone from the very young to the young at heart.
We market it across social media platforms as well as through Visit Lancashire and in the Lancashire and North West magazine with a distribution of approximately 39,000 copies per month. With entertainment from different types of arts, that people may not usually have access to, giving a diverse program rich in Italian culture we are bringing arts and culture to the city whilst celebrating our heritage. With over 100,000 visitors to the city at the last 2 years events we bring many new people to the city, we limit the number of stalls so local businesses can also benefit from these visitors as well. Accommodation across the city is booked out for the event bringing a boost in economy to various sectors of Lancaster.
Steps to get it done
- Dates booked with council for 2024
- Book stalls to attend the event
- Book all entertainment for the event
- Apply to council for various licenses required
- Book staging and sound equipment
- Present all documentation to local council
- Liaise with local businesses for the event
- Schedule publicity for the event
- Get volunteers to help at the event
We are supporting the arts and culture with a varied schedule of entertainment at the concert on the Saturday as well as the main event. At both days we will have varying types of performances from opera to dance as well as all the activities in our Bambino Zone. We will be looking for a group of volunteers to help it all run smoothly as the Totally Local Lancaster team consists of 3 people putting all of this together on top of our own jobs/businesses so we want to give opportunities to people to learn from the event as well. . We want to bring as many people to the city and get them to stay to showcase everything our wonderful city and surrounding have to offer.
