Some stalls are set up in the town itself, where the usual market takes place, but in addition, the avenue which leads up to the sanctuary is lined with more stalls selling anything from clothes to frying pans, costume jewelry and hand made wooden articles. There are also stands offering candy of every kind – a joy for the sweet-toothed amongst us!….and of course balloons and windmills of every shape and size to keep the kiddies happy. But the real fun begins at the top of the hill, in the square right beside the Basilica, where the amusement park is set up; merry-go-rounds and carousels which become bigger and more daring as the years go by. Loud music, screams of excitement from youngsters (and many not so young!) whizzing around at dizzy heights, ot
hers trying out the strength of their punches, tiny tots on choo choo trains, enormous rolls stuffed with ‘porchetta’ for those who work up an appetite……
In a shack opposite the Basilica, the local ‘Glenn Miller Band’ organises a lottery every year; hundreds of tiny rolled up tickets are sold to townsfolk hoping to hit the jackpot.
During all this, hoards of worshippers attend the religious functions in the Basilica, in honour of the Madonna of San Marco, and the joyous peal of the bells can be heard in all of Bedonia. This very minute, as the fair is drawing to an end, the Glenn Miller Band is finishing a concert, and before midnight, a wonderful display of fireworks will fill the sky with blazing color – booom!… there goes the first one now!