Jeffersonville Italian Festival draws record crowd

Clark County

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The Louisville Ethnic Dancers perform during the Jeffersonville Italian Festival on West Court Avenue, between Spring and Pearl Streets, on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
Festival goers move down West Court Avenue while attending the Jeffersonville Italian Festival on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer

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September 24, 2012

Jeffersonville Italian Festival draws record crowd

By MATT KOESTERS matt.koesters@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Mon Sep 24, 2012, 06:19 AM EDT

JEFFERSONVILLE — It’s about time the Jeffersonville Italian Festival got a fair shake.

The inaugural festival in 2010 was held on the hottest day of that year. Last year’s festival contended with non-stop rain and the closure of the Sherman-Minton Bridge. This year’s edition? Cool temperatures, blue skies and a record-setting turnout.

“I think it’s going astronomically well, way better than we thought,” said Adrienne Holland, owner of Adrienne & Co. along Court Avenue in Jeffersonville.

The eatery holds a prime spot along the festival site on Court Avenue, and the big crowd had the cafe scrambling to keep hungry festival goers happy.

And happy they were. Adrienne & Co. was one of several vendors serving up Italian fare, which included lasagna, pizza, Italian sausage sandwiches, toasted ravioli, chicken parmesan, eggplant parmesan and gelato.

“So far, the food is fantastic out here, so that’s my favorite part,” Charles Land, 30, of New Albany, said.

Land enjoyed the Italian fare, but he didn’t get much of a chance to savor his first cannoli. Land was one of 14 contestants in the annual cannoli-eating contest, and he tied with another competitor for first-place after downing the pastry in about 10 seconds.

“I’ve never had a cannoli before, so I was a little surprised,” Land said. “When I bit into it, everything fell apart. I barely tasted it until after I was done.”

Contests are a major attraction at the Italian Festival, but perhaps the biggest draw was the Beautiful Bambino competition, where parents dressed up their children to show off for a panel of judges. Applause definitely influenced the outcome as infants, toddlers and older children took their turn on the stage.

“Honey Boo Boo has nothing over us, huh?” joked contest organizer Myra Martino as she handed a trophy to one of the winners.

Holland is Martino’s daughter, and fellow co-organizer Bernie Carducci is her son. Carducci, wearing a long-tailed coat, a top hat and a sash patterned after the Italian flag, judged the Beautiful Bambino contest and conducted the cannoli-eating contest.

“We are so far ahead of the previous two years because we have good weather, and all the roads lead to Jeffersonville,” Carducci said. “At the peak of the Roman Empire, all roads led to Rome. Now it’s all roads lead to the Jeffersonville Italian Festival. We think we’re going to break some serious records this year.”

As children ran around the closed-off section of Court Avenue, playing with bocce balls, video games and jumping around in an inflatable tent, adults sat around tables sampling food, wine and beer.

“We have a safe, clean, secure area so people can feel free to bring their kids here and let their kids roam around,” Carducci said. “This is like an Italian wedding where you have the parents sitting around eating, drinking, and then watching the kids play all over the place.”

Carducci emphasized that the all-local flavor of the festival was a big reason for the big crowds.

“It’s all local vendors, people you would recognize, people you trust,” Carducci explained. “We don’t allow people who are from outside of the area selling carnival food, coming in for two days and then blowing town.”

Holland estimated that the event would draw more than 10,000 visitors by the end of the weekend. Carducci thinks that’s a good start.

“We want to make this thing bigger and better so that next year we can break another record,” Carducci said. “Come hungry!”