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Events in Ticino by Pamela Pintus

The hot summer brings us to a colorful autumn, events and festivals are an opportunity to discover the soul of Ticino and to meet interesting people and get closer to the culture of a place, all while having fun and enjoying the pleasures of the place. The Canton Ticino offers this and much more, if you love events and festivals, then you are spoilt for choice, there is something for everyone.

PerBacco!

Bellinzona, from Sept 5 - Sept 8, 2019

The festival will be held from Thursday 5th to Sunday 8th of September, on Thursday evening there will be the inauguration of the event, which will represent a preview of the festival. On Friday 6th of September, you will get to know it with shows, music and lots of fun.

PerBacco! is the Bellinzona Grape Harvest Festival and is organized every year to promote events related to the local wine culture. This year the event aims to passers-by and occasional tourists through the streets of this characteristic historic center, where they can taste the varieties of local wines, red and white ones. You can enjoy good music, visit the market that will take place for all three days along the streets, and to which you can participate by filling out a respective request, or take part in an exciting photography contest.

This one offers the possibility to many photographic enthusiasts to tell through the images the creative process of wine, its seasonal development, life in the vineyards and much more. In the end, three photographs will be awarded and it will be the jury selected by PerBacco! to decide the winners.

www.perbaccobellinzona.ch

Alphorn Festival of the Italian Switzerland in Ticino

Mendrisio, from Sept 7 - Sept 8, 2019

The Horn Festival Group of the Swiss Alps has decided to pay tribute to this instrument, so far not particularly present in Ticino, dedicating to it an event that has been taking place for a couple of years now, every beginning of September. The association, founded in 2015, aims to bridge the gap and, for this purpose, in 2017, successfully organized the first edition of the festival held in Mendrisio. This year it will reach its 3rd edition!

The event will open with the official inauguration on Saturday 7th September in Piazza del Ponte, where the donkey prize will take place. It will then continue with the exhibition of the horns of the Alps.

On Sunday 8th September, however, various activities are planned, including the Breakfast at Monte Generoso and the competition organized by the association, to which all interested people can register. During the day you can watch the performances of different groups and watch the awarding of the competition. The event will then end with the drawing of the lottery. During the whole festival you can eat and drink at the special stands.

www.festivalcornodellealpi-ti.ch

Traditional swiss games

Lugano, Sept 14, 2019

The idea behind is to create an event that combines culture and sport, bringing the typical Swiss games on stage. The aim is to create a unique atmosphere, a place where you can enjoy all kinds of activities among typical costumes, folk groups, horn players and much more - there will be fun.

The festival is therefore an instrument to promote not only sports and games of the past, but also many traditional aspects, becoming an attraction for all those tourists interested in this kind of activity, but also to those who are still unaware of it and would like to broaden their cultural horizons.

In addition to the games and competitions there will obviously be a variety of food and wine. The grills will be started already in the morning, offering a wide range of Bratwurst. And for those who want to take home some delicacies, the food flavors market with sausage stalls, cheeses, honey, cakes, etc. will be open for the duration of the event.

There are also activities planned for Kids, who will not only have fun, but also can learn new things. Activities include pony rides and a trip to the demonstration dairy, where children can learn the art of cheesemaking.

https://www.luganoregion.com/en/events/events-calendar/detail/id/52722/traditional-swiss-games

“Sagra del Borgo” (Village Festival)

Mendrisio, from Sept 27 – Sept 29, 2019

Mendrisio is the city with the highest number of vineyards in Canton Ticino, tradition is here very strong as is the quality of the food and wine, always very appreciated by tourists. The city of Mendrisio is still known today as the “Magnificent Village”, thanks to the presence of charming alleys, with the characteristic houses with inner courtyards and terracotta roofs and several medieval and baroque churches scattered throughout the country. These are the main points of this third edition of the “Sagra del Borgo”, an event that brings together different cultural, sporting and craft realities of the area.

The event is a meeting point between different activities for local products and aims to become a place where the context helps to enhance and enrich the quality. During the event you can walk through the streets of the historic center of Mendrisio, appreciating and rediscovering traditions, customs and local products in a unique festival.

https://www.ticino.ch/en/events/details/Sagra-del-Borgo/35950.html

Autumn Festival

Lugano, from Oct 4 – Oct 7, 2019

Autumn is approaching, so let’s welcome it with a nice celebration in the beautiful Italian-speaking area of Switzerland. From October 4th to October 7th, Lugano will host the Autumn Festival, a riot of flavors and colors, where wine and typical products of the Swiss tradition will guide visitors through the city’s streets. An alternative way to celebrate with friends and enjoy the typical local food and wine products, now famous and appreciated throughout Europe.

The festival will take place in three days and visitors can discover the typical dishes of the Ticino tradition. Popular gastronomy and excellent Ticino wines will be the traveling companions of tourists and local passers-by, who can eat in the grottoes (local taverns) located along the streets of the center. Typical and welcoming places, which will lead everyone into a cultural and traditional atmosphere.

The event is accompanied by the autumn market with many stalls, where you can find antiques, clothes, bags and much more, and where there will be numerous stalls with products of local gastronomy and crafts, giving a touch of color and joy, typical of each festival.

https://www.luganoregion.com/en/events/events-calendar/detail/id/52891/autumn-festival

Chestnut Festival

Ascona, Oct 12, 2019

The autumn calendar also offers a Chestnut Festival, which will take place in mid-October in Ascona.

During the event more than 2000 kg of chestnuts will be roasted on the fire in the typical round braziers by the "maronatt" (people who are roasting chestnuts), to allow visitors to enjoy this small delicacy throughout the day.

Along the streets of the city there will be many market stalls, where you can find typical products and various delicacies based on chestnuts, including jams, different types of honey, cakes and other local products.

For food lovers, there will be the typical specialty “polenta and gorgonzola”, or alternatively “mortadella". In the afternoon some concerts will start, where different groups will perform to bring joy and fun and you can also dance and sing. The festival will take place on October 12 in Ascona under any weather conditions.

https://www.ascona-locarno.com/en/events/details/Chestnut-Festival/114310

San Martino’s fair

Mendrisio, from Nov 9 – Nov 11, 2019

On November 11th, Mendrisio celebrates the Fair of San Martino, an event that has been celebrated for many centuries and that lasts several days. The origin of the fair is rather ancient and dates to the time of Mario Medici. The place of worship has not changed, and is in the meadows of San Martino, in front of the church that bears the name of the saint, to whom the festival is dedicated. Even if times have changed, the festival has been handed down over the centuries, up to the present day becoming a fixed annual appointment, which has been renewed for four hundred years and which you cannot miss.

Here you can breathe a very local atmosphere, where food can be enjoyed - fish, chestnuts, mushrooms, cheeses, cold cuts and many other typical products of the Ticino tradition. The fair is also characterized by several local associations that promote their delicacies, offering a wide range of the most famous Ticino wines to match.

In addition to this jumble of flavors, there are also the colors of the different products of the artisan tradition. The fair is made up of a multitude of stalls, where you can sell, buy and bargain, in a festive atmosphere warmed by a warm November sun. The rides, the music, the voice of the people transform into a place of pleasant refreshment, with the presence of livestock that testifies in some way to the rural life that once took place here.

The place is characterized by some terraces behind the church, which host various exhibitions of agricultural tools and machinery, and terraces where you can enjoy the view of the surrounding landscape, or where you can eat and catch your breath away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The Fair of San Martino takes place on November, 9-10-11, with opening hours at 8.30 and closing at 22.00. Admission is free.

https://www.mendrisiottoturismo.ch/en/events/details/San-Martino-Fest/41796.html

Locarno on Ice

Locarno, Nov 22, 2019 – Jan 6, 2020

Locarno celebrates Christmas in Piazza Grande with an event that will bring together young and old. Fun is guaranteed with ice rinks, live music, colorful lights and lots of food.

Winter in Locarno promises to be lively, in a location of 2000 sqm will be set up a large ice rink, welcome points, refreshment points and a stage used for performances by various singers, which will bring much entertainment and fun.

The ice rink will be surrounded by many wooden houses, which will offer refreshment to all those who want to try the local specialties. The entrance of the event will be decorated with a large fir tree, decorated with colored balls and lights.

The skating rink, the main attraction of the event, will be open every day from 10 to midnight and will host children and adolescents from 6 to 18 years, and also adults. Ticket and skate rental prices vary according to age.

https://www.locarno-on-ice.ch/it/

Have fun and enjoy by Pamela