Thousands of people from across the Illawarra’s Italian community are expected to converge on Fairy Meadow on Sunday for the annual Castagne Day festival at the Fraternity Club.
The event, which has been running since 1952, features the traditional roasting of chestnuts, as well as market stalls, live entertainment, and rides and activities for kids.
Fraternity Club Vice-President Connie Sacco said the club was expecting up to 5,000 people to pass through the gates on Sunday, with many of those travelling from near and far.
“There’s a lot from Sydney that do come, I do know of people from Griffith that will come up as well, so the surrounding areas that people can still get here in a good time, they will definitely come,” Ms Sacco said.
“It’s not just the Italians, we get a lot of [people from] different nationalities that come just to taste the chestnuts.”
The roasting of chestnuts symbolises the start of winter, and honours those who made bread from chestnuts or castagne due to grain and corn shortages during World War II, as well as members of the Alpini, the Italian Army’s Specialist Mountain Infantry corps, some of whom were involved in the beginnings of the event back in 1952 and remain involved today.
The festival gates open 10am Sunday.