In small towns like Bedonia and Borgotaro, people love to keep flower gardens, vegetable plots or just colorful displays of hanging plants on a terrace. Some are lucky enough to have all three! And let’s face it – what bigger and healthier satisfaction than to eat your own lovingly tended lettuce, tomatoes or runner beans? The areas’ deeply-rooted garden-to-table tradition has spawned a new festival; the very first edition of ‘BORGO IN FIORE.’ The first festival of the season runs the May 13-14 in Borgotaro.
A market offering flowers and organic products (but pretty much anything else too!) will kick off the event, and during the weekend, courses are offered by local experts on various aspects of fruit and vegetable cultivation. Along the main thoroughfare, you will find convivial lunches and dinners as well as the best traditional music and dancing Italy has to offer.
Everyone is feeling the spring in their bones and Albareto, a nearby town, will be doing its own thing on May 13 with a ‘FESTA DELLA PRIMAVERA’ – subtitle ‘PONTEMMA A CARETTA’ or ‘LET’S PUSH THE WHEELBARROW’. Local bands parading along the streets with children singing and dancing will set the mood. Then comes the highlight of the event — the wheelbarrow race — in which parents crazily zigzag around obstacles pushing their happy, giggling offspring. Needless to say, all the participants are obliged to obey the rigorous dress code for the event: no ties or elegant attire required, just flowers, flowers everywhere!!!
And this is just the beginning! Roll on summer!