Venetian Festival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Venetian festivals are held in cities in Europe and North America. They are based on carnival, or carnevale, the period just before Lent, as celebrated in 1600s in Venice, Italy. Venetian festivals re-create the fantasy of the earlier events with food, costumes, masks, music, theater, juggling and other spectacles. The masks and costumes are worn by people who often travel from other countries to attend and perform (or parade) in these festivals. The elaborate costumes and masks are handmade by artisans from various countries. Many involve male and female or group versions and are based on old Venetian characters and costumes.
In the US, one Venetian festival is held annually on the third weekend of July in St. Joseph, Michigan, a small town on the coast of Lake Michigan in southwest Michigan. It started in 1979, and has grown from a handful of people to nearly 200,000 visitors since its inception. Once a two-day event on Friday and Saturday, this festival now runs from Thursday through Sunday and features an expanding variety of sights, sounds, and tastes, including among them contests, food, music, fireworks, a lighted boat parade, and a carnival.
Another Venetian festival is held in Charlevoix, Michigan and started in 1930.
