A Festa di Primavera & Other Festas Soon to Come

Nothing says Spring like a floral crown (see images below for completed examples)

La Festa di Primavera last Saturday at my son's small Waldorf asilo (or kindergarten) near Sant' Alvise in Cannaregio reminded me that one of the best ways to catch Venice's residents being themselves--rather than playing to tourists--is to attend one of the city's local festivals. They're generally not well-publicized, and even those festivals which set up websites often turn out to be more informative about last year's schedule of events than this year's.

But here is a list of some of the feste and sagre that I've attended in recent years with approximate dates for when they typically run and links to posts I've written on each:

Festa di Sant' Antonio at church of San Francesco della Vigna: June 8 through15, 2013

http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2011/06/festa-di-s-antonio-at-s-fran-della.html

Festa di San Giovanni in Bragora: 3rd week of June (for about a week)

http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2012/06/festa-di-san-giovanni-in-bragora-2012.html

http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2011/06/festa-di-san-giovanni-in-bragora.html

Festa di San Piero de Casteo (aka S Pietro di Castello): last week of June (about a week)

http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2012/06/bridge-diving-festa-de-san-piero-de.html

http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2011/07/festa-di-san-pietro-di-castello.html

Festa del Redentore: the famous city-wide festa and most important of them all, but now handled by an official private marketing arm: July 20 & 21, 2013.

http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2012/07/festa-del-redentore-2012-revelers.html

http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2012/07/festa-del-redentore-2012-fireworks.html

http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2011/07/festa-del-redentore-4-views-from-boat.html

Sagra di Santa Marta: last week of July (the 1st in this working-class area of Venice took place last year)

http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2012/07/sagra-di-santa-marta.html

Sagra di San Giacomo dell' Orio: end of July (for about a week)

http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2011/07/sagra-di-san-giacomo-dellorio-3-views.html

And here are some more images from this year's Festa di Primavera of the Asilo Pan di Zenzero, which will occur again next year in early to mid-May in the garden of the ex-Ospedale Umberto I at the northwestern edge of Cannaregio.

A mosaic workshop I oversaw with real Murano glass tiles on handmade frames

Just 5 euros would buy you a ticket for a ride in a real gondola with a real gondolier (the father of one of the school's students)

There were no shortage of hand-made items to buy, including some ducks & geese made of felt by my wife Jen

There was a bread-making workshop for kids and...

 

...a fishing hole full of surprises.