Ciao, bella!

I decided to swing by North Beach Saturday to check out the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club's Festa Coloniale Italiana, a FREE day of food, family and culture on Stockton between Union and Filbert. The festivities got underway at 11:30 a.m. but I arrived fashionably late (I'm sure showing up five hours late is fashionable somewhere in Italy) and found that the party was still in full-swing. The single block was flanked with merchants peddling Italian wares ranging from olive oil and red wine vinegar to murano glass jewelry. My personal favorite was a booth specializing in Italian license plate frames with slogans like, "There's no such thing as too much garlic" and "Italians never die, they just pastaway."

I eventually made my way over to the SFIAC's table where I met Jim Toland, a member of the club's board of directors. Turns out Toland studied journalism at SFSU, went on to write for the Chronicle and eventually returned to SFSU to teach reporting. SMALL world. I learned that the the 620 member SFIAC was founded in 1918 to give male Italian immigrants who came to North Beach looking for work a social outlet of sorts. Toland was quick to point out that the club welcomes "women and people of all backgrounds," a sentiment strongly supported by the diverse crowd that descended on Stockton that sunny (and eventually blustery) day.

Bella Ciao, an SF-based six piece band specializing in classic Italian tunes, was onstage by the time I made my way back toward Union. "Everybody’s Italian today! Are you feeling it San Francisco?" asked the lead singer. Her enthusiasm seemed to do very little to move the vast majority of festa-goers from their folding white seats. I suspect this had something to do with the vast quantities of pasta that had no doubt been consumed by the 5 o'clock hour. A less starch-stuffed crowd certainly wouldn't have been able to resist Bella Ciao's repeated requests to put their hands in the air.