I went to the San Gennaro Feast this week. Lots of food and fun. It has been relocated to the Silverton. One of my favorites is the music. There is traditional Italian music until about 8 or 9 pm. Then Tony Sacca comes on and showcases local talent such as Lena Prima and Dick Contino. He also gets stars from the strip to come by and sing a few songs. Some of the special guests this week included Dangerous Curves, and Chazz Palminteri. It was particular fun to watch Dick Contino. He's getting up in age, so if you ever wanted to see him, don't put it off too much. He still loves to entertain. And no matter who is supposed to be on stage that night, they always have time for their fans.

The food is worth a visit on it's own. Several of the local Italian restaurants bring out their portable kitchens to the feast. There is no shortage of sausage and peppers, meatball sandwiches, pizza, artichoke, chicken parm, etc., etc., etc. And there are plenty of sweets and drinks. If you like cotton candy, deep fried twinkies, deep fried tiramisu, deep fried oreos, etc., you can find it. And there is plenty of cold beer.

There are carnival rides for kids and adults. And there are lots of booths of vendors selling everything from T-shirts, to life insurance.

The new location of this Italian festival is much nicer than the old place. And there is more parking available, although I'm sure it will be tested on the weekend. This is the 31st year of the feast. It is held twice each year. The summer event will happen in September. It is a very fun time. Discounts are available all over town, with normal adult admission being $8.

We were there this week also. The Silverton is a much better spot for the Feast. We parked in the garage, nice paved spot for Feast, no dirt blowing. Food is always fantastic, and I had one of those wonderful Italian Indian Fry Bread Tacos! Yum! Toby had a Greek Salad, and we both had a few bites of a mushy frozen banana........banana was not good. Entertainment is really good. I like the early entertainment, but I do wish they had posted a list of their names. We went by and told them how much we enjoyed the music, but never did find out who they were.
Did you try that crazy slingshot ride? We did not, though Toby Tater gazed wistfully............... $50 a pop!!!
It was more fun this year, and I do hope they keep it at the Silverton beyond 2010.

I didn't do the slingshot ride. I was looking at the maintenance/assembly of many of the rides. One quick conclusion was that carnival rides are put together by carnies. It seems that a carny has a lot of traits. They are tight group, they have a lot of fun, and they like their job. There are traits they don't have also. Bottom line, I'd jump off of the Stratosphere before I rode a carnival ride. I feel there is a huge difference between an amusement park ride and a carnival ride.

I'm gonna post a picture of one of the bands I like that played the traditional Italian music to see if that's who you were talking about.