ITALIANS OF WOLLONGONG: S. GIOVANNI BATTISTA FESTIVAL

Now with the restored statue back in the hands of the committee they began planing and once again became a registered group. Friends, past members and other Italians had been invited to join the committee, it was an open door. Elections were held at the Italian centre, nominations were voted on and roles were decided. They had a lawyer in attendance, local Italian priest Father Lauro, and an accountant. Luigi Villella was elected as the president.

It was agreed that to kick start the group everyone would donate an amount of money. They gathered around $8000 as a start up with each of the committee members giving $350. It was always the intention to give the original committee members their $350 donation back to them. Approximately five years later, once they were well established they all received their money.

Executives would then hold their own meetings to discuss the festival and what they would propose. They would then hold a general meeting with all the other committee members for their approval. It was total transparency. The meetings were conducted the same way every year. As time and years went on, more money meant higher profile singers, more entertainers and better fireworks. The fireworks display was always done by Foti International Fireworks, a now 8 generation family business.

THE PROGRAM GUIDE

The festival program guide for 1981 was very similar in size to the program guide from the 1960`s festivals. The pages were a bit smaller but there were more of them. 1500 programs were printed for the very first festival. Entry fee was $3 for adults, $2 for pensioners and $1 for children. From 1983 the programs were A4 size, proving how the festival was growing. It remained an A4 size until the last festival program in 2014.

In the beginning many of the advertisers in the program were Italian Business owners but that soon changed. It became apparent quite quickly that the festival was noticed by everyone. Many business began to advertise in the annual festival program. Ads ranged from 1/8 of a page to full page ads. 1/4 of page and 1/2 page ads were popular. By 1988 the program front and back covers were in colour. From 1989 colour was slowly introduced inside the programs and they made excellent reading. A lot of enthusiasm came from the community, a great response: $50 - $300 dollars for ads in the program. Cash donations also came from businesses and others in the community, and all their names were put in the program. The first year a donation of $500 dollars was given to the festival committee from the Italian church collections.

The program guide was filled with all kinds of things. Of course there were advertisements that were generating much needed funds to run the festival but you would often find historical content about towns and places in Italy. Fun facts about Italy or its` famous people. You could also see the latest information about the Wollongong Wolves Soccer team`s seasonal draw and local games ect. There were messages from the president of the San Giovanni Battista committee, the current Wollongong Lord Mayor, the Scalabrini Fathers, the Wollongong Bishop, state and local politicians. Sometimes there were features of locals in the Italian community who were of service.

As the years passed you would even find cooking recipes and there were always photos of the festival from the year prior, with history as well. The centre of the program always had photos of the entertainment lineup and the donations for the year, and, with a recurring list of accumulated donations of money over time. It also showed sponsors and donations of prizes that were used for the raffle at the festival itself. The raffles generated quite a good amount of money too! It certainly was a keepsake and the programs was free. By 2006 the program booklet was 62 pages.

FUNDRAISING

Aside from cash donations, sponsors and advertisements in the program there were many other events to raise money that contributed to the festival funds. The fundraising for the festival was never ending. It required a lot of work and dedication. Volunteers were needed constantly.

Each year they would hold two Spaghettata days to raise funds and also have a great time. Easter Monday and Labour Day October long weekend were the assigned spaghettata days. Friends, families and acquaintances would usually meet at the one of the local dams for a huge picnic/spaghettata. The festival committee would cook large pots of pasta for all to enjoy. There was also a dinner dance held annually at The Fraternity Club with funds raised going towards the festival.

In 1998 the ladies committee was formed. The ladies committee did amazing work and created some memorable moments too. They held fashion parades and daily bus trips. Some of the places they went to were fashion warehouses, cherry picking at farms and even trips to the snow! The ladies committee also held masquerade balls with paper mace masks that they hand made. They were very creative.

You would also find them in the mall on Italian day selling beautiful sweets and delicious foods. The local Italian dancers would perform at various places and for their performances they received donations, all going towards the festival. The ladies committee ran till about 2003.

Another way they fund raised was with disco`s for the children. The San Giovanni Battista committee held under 18`s disco`s with a DJ and they served soft drinks and snacks. The disco`s were held at the hall at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross and the Italian Centre, both in Stewart Street, Wollongong. Disco`s were held almost fortnightly with up to 300 children in attendance. The disco`s ran for over ten years.

THE FESTIVAL DAY

After the mass at the Cathedral and the procession with the statue to the Sacred Heart Chapel, people made their way to the Wollongong Show Ground and the festival began around 3.30pm. There were stalls galore of food and drinks. A joyland carnival for the children with a Merry-Go-Round and Ferris Wheel and one could not forget the stalls of the Italian sweets of Mustazolli (honey and gingerbread) and Torrone (Italian nut nougat).

There was the famous spaghetti eating competition for adults and in later years for children as well. The entertainment program usually began around 4pm. This gave people time to arrive after the procession with many people finding a seat in the grand stand. The festival concluded with the drawing of the raffles and the fireworks display, finishing around 10pm. The main attraction entertainer usually performed at the end of the night as well. Many years later the fireworks moved to 9pm.

The very first festival compare was Pino Bosi. Pino Bosi was an award winning journalist and author. He worked in multicultural television and was a pioneer in special broadcasting services for ethnic radio. Pino Bosi also compared the early 1960`s festival. Another compare in later years was Umberto Rossi. Local WIN Television News anchors Michael McRae and Susie Elelman also compared and helped out with raffle draws ect.

From 1995 to 2001 the festival moved to Brandon Park before returning to the Wollongong show ground in 2002.

Luigi Villella had been the president since 1981. He held the position for 25 years. He stepped down from the presidency in early 2006. On the 5th of August of the same year the then secretary Mario Mastroianni (who was the secretary since it began in 1981) suddenly passed away. It was such a shock for all. Both Luigi and Mario who worked tirelessly for the festival along with the committee, helped create a festival like no other in Wollongong.

2006 saw a new president in Mario Vescio. Mario Vescio had been part of the committee since 1981 and had a good knowledge of the festival operations. The new secretary was Connie Sacco. Connie was also part of the committee and had been the assistant secretary since 2001. 2006 also saw the introduction of the pizza eating contest along with the original spaghetti race.

In 2010 the festival moved to the Fraternity Bowling Club at Fairy Meadow. It was also the year that the festival celebrated coming into it’s 30th year of operation, which actually occurred in 2011. The procession still lead from the Wollongong Catholic Cathedral to the Sacred Heart Chapel with the festivities beginning in the afternoon.

The festival at the Fraternity Club was a lot smaller than that at the Show ground but with a different format. The Festival began around around 3pm. They had food stalls, festival sweets and a exhibition of Italian cars, with a competition for the Champion of Champions. With rides for the children and outdoor entertainment. Then, inside the club in the sunken lounge, they had the Italian variety entertainers and a local DJ as part of the day’s program. The festival again finishing with a fireworks display.

2014 was the last festival. This time the procession was led from the St John Vianney`s Catholic Church at Fairy Meadow. This would be the very last time that the community gathered to walk and celebrate San Giovanni Battista.

I spoke to one of the committee members who recalls as a child going to the festival. He said his Father would give him and his brother $20 each. They would just spend the day there on the rides, buying food and having fun watching all the entertainment. He said it felt like Christmas for him and his brother.

The San Giovanni Battista festival ran for 37 years with a total of 38 festivals. It really was an amazing achievement. It took a brigade of people to run the festival that came together at the year’s end with constant fundraising and activities throughout to get there. The initial fundraising just to get the statue was fantastic in itself. Door knocking and speaking with the community to bringing home the statue in 1965.

From the early stages of the idea, then putting together a group of people, to then selecting the committee members. Coordinating the festival was another endeavour. Each committee member had their role to play and without each other the festival would never have taken place.

Local council requirements and regulations had to be met. Responsibilities for the statue and the processions. The never ending fundraising throughout the year and the organisation of dinner dances, picnic days, bus trips ect, seeking donations from the community and local businesses. Making sure that all insurance’s and entertainment fees were covered. Constantly coming up with different ways to fund raise such as disco`s for the children and food stalls throughout the year remembering that for most of those years they didn’t have social media.

We certainly were blessed that the committee members were motivated to create such a wonderful festival. Many of them had families and/or even businesses of their own, yet they still dedicated so much time and effort to the event every year. It was carnival day for the children, a family day for many and for some people, just walking behind the statue with the procession was worth the wait every year.

There will be never be another festival or era like it. It was the pride of the Italian community. The many memories will remain with all of us. It was only meant for the time that it was. VIVA SAN GIOVANNI!