2016 Italian Fest at The Villages

Only three days after the German American Society's Oktoberfest, Jim was loading up his truck and heading to the Spanish Springs square in The Villages in order to prepare our site for the fun-loving Italians in the Villages, along with wannabe Italians! I was busy preparing chicken alfredo and sides . The event started at 3pm with a parade featuring decked-out golf carts, veterans' groups marching in uniform, the Villagers cheerleaders, twirlers, and bellydancers, the Villagers' clown group, and stilt walkers. It lasted about an hour with local school bands participating witht the retirees. Fun!Fun!Fun! What were learned from that event was that the Spanish Springs crowd is a group of light eaters. Many of them admit to eating at home before they come to the event. While it was lots of fun, we barely covered our costs and hoped that the next Italian fest, some two days later in Lake Sumter Landing would be more profitable. As it turned out, Lake Sumter Landing was a complete rain out, but at least the event was called off before vendors had to set everything else.