If former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is anything to go by, the Italians sure know how to party.
Carlton’s biggest annual street party in celebration of the boot-shaped nation returns later this month, and Mill Park’s very own comedian, actor and presenter James Liotta was asked to emcee the event for the third consecutive year. He accepted.
The Carlton Italian Festa 2014 will take over Lygon Street on October 26 and feature performances from Anthony Callea, comedian Joe Avati, actress and singer Maria Venuti and tenor Mark Vincent, as well as Vespa scooters and Fiat and Alfa Romeo car shows, among a range of Italian-themed events.
“We’ve tried to lift the bar this year,” Liotta said.
“It’s been music-oriented in the past, but this year we’ll have a bit more variety with comedy sketches and performances.”
The comedian says event organisers are expecting about 10,000 people to show up.
Liotta’s parents are from Catania in Sicily. His Italian heritage is no anomaly in the City of Whittlesea where Italians are one of the largest non-English-speaking ethnic groups.
Liotta says the festival will embrace anyone with Italian ancestry or with a love for all things “Italiano.”
Aside from preparing for the festival, Liotta has been beavering away on a late-night comedy talk show with co-host Sean Pary, called Planet unEarth, due to air on the GO! Network on December 2.
The pair interview local celebrities on a bed. “It’s a big sort of threesome going on, but it’s all above board.”
The festa, a free event in Lygon Street, Carlton, runs from 11am till 8pm.
