Peterborough Italian Festival set to return with celebrity guest and 'Strictly' star Giovanni Pernice
A “crowd-pleasing” celebrity is to make a special guest appearance at festival taking place in Peterborough’s Cathedral Square next month.
The Italian Community Association Peterborough (ICA) has announced the return of Peterborough Italian Festival on the weekend of September 20 and 21.
Booked for this year’s celebration is Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice – who will entertain crowds and offer some dancing lessons.
Now in its sixteenth year, the event takes place from 9am-5pm on Saturday, and 10am-5pm on Sunday, with free entry.
Since it was first held in 2009, the festival had grown into one of the biggest celebrations of Italian culture in the country – with over a thousand in attendance each year. There are expectations this year will see the biggest crowd yet.
Festival organiser Angelo Passero, from the ICA, said: “Our celebrity this year will be Giovanni Pernice, former Strictly Come Dancing champion and last year’s winner of Ballando Con Le Stelle, Italy’s version of the show.
“Giovanni is really popular and had a sell-out show in Peterborough recently. I’ve already had lots of emails from women asking me when he is going to appear.
"He will be attending on the Sunday and will put on a great show as he’s a real crowd-pleaser. We are expecting to see our biggest crowd since we had Gino D’Acampo as a guest a few years ago.”
The festival, which is open to everybody, will offer a live entertainment programme across both days, along with Italian food and drink, merchandise stalls, classic Italian vehicles, children's activities, and more.
“We also have award-winning Italian chef Carmelo Carnevale who will be giving cooking demonstrations on both days,” Angelo added. “So please come along and help us celebrate all the great things Italy has to offer."
This year’s event has received a funding boost from Peterborough Positive (BID).
Pep Cipriano, Chief Operating Officer at Peterborough Positive, commented: “I am absolutely delighted to support the return of the Peterborough Italian Festival, and to be part funding the announcement that Giovanni Pernice will be the special guest.
"It is fantastic that he will be part of the event, and we are expecting hundreds of people to come to the city centre to watch his dance moves.
"Our role is to help elevate the city centre, increase football and change the perception of the city centre, and events like this definitely do that.”
The festival still has space for more stallholders including delicatessen, fresh coffee and any merchandise vendors. For more details about getting involved, email [email protected].