The IBLA Foundation in New York City organizes annual music competitions for pianists, singers, instrumentalists and composers which takes place in Ragusa Ibla, Italy. Winners have been presented in prestigious venues such Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center Alice Tully Hall, Tokyo Opera City Hall, Tchaikovsky Bolshoi Hall in Moscow as well as other prestigious venues in the USA, Canada, Europe, Russia, Indonesia and Japan.
In cooperation with:
• New York University • Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimo • Radford University • Berklee School of Music • Kent State University • E. P. T. A. Associates of New York • The City of Little Rock, Arkansas • The City of Jacksonville, Arkansas • Città di Ragusa • Ragusa Ibla, Sicily
The film festival will be held from the 13th of July until the 20th of July on the island of Ortigia in Siracusa. The main purpose of the festival is to promote and give visibility to the Italian cinema. A fun week of culture, films, art and much more. Ortigia is an ancient city, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, steeped in culture and the perfect place to spend a week exploring and soaking up the best of Italian cinema.www.ortigiafilmfestival.it
Celebrazione della Madonna della Neve Giarratana, Sicily
28 July to 5 August - verify dates
Many days of celebrations, live bands, food booths, religious procession carrying the Madonna with booming cannons and fireworks (mid-day) Culminating with a spectacular fireworks display at midnight on the final evening.
Celebrating the harvest of some of the largest and most well known onions in Sicily. They can weigh up to 2 kilos! You must taste and experience this festival. Many different food stalls selling local cheeses, World famous Trapani torrone, assorted foods and sausages and of course many different dishes using this famous onion. The charming town of Giarratana, just 25 minutes from Ragusa, welcomes you.
Mid-August, usually after the Onion Festival- verify dates
Medfest Buccheri / Tamburi di Buccheri
Usually around the 3rd weekend in August. Be sure not to miss this fun event!
Meeting point of culture and civilization. Mystical and metaphysical union of religions, rites and legends. Alchemy of languages, colors, visual and olfactory scents, rhythms of craftsmanship and musical sounds. All this was the Sicilian Middle Ages, the belly of the Mediterranean and even before the Lombards and the Normans. Today we could define technical evidence of globalization in a world (the medieval one) that in the Mediterranean had its center and in Sicily its navel, the meeting point between populations profoundly different from each other, but, at the same time, united by trade and curiosity to know the "different" and the "unknown".
Feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle - Giarratana, Sicily
August 24 - verify date
The Feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle is celebrated in supreme fashion in the small town of Giarratana. Probably the biggest celebration of the year, the statue of the patron saint is carried through the narrow streets of Giarratana for all to see. Afterwards there is an auction of the gifts that have been offered to the patron saint and later that night an elaborate fireworks display that should not be missed.
Feast of San Giovanni Battista - Ragusa
August 29 - date may change
The Feast of San Giovanni Battista, the Patron Saint of upper Ragusa, Sicily. Three foot candles and hundreds of people winding their way through the streets of Ragusa in an ages old solemn procession followed by a huge fireworks display after midnight. Plenty of food stalls and shopping stalls to keep you busy till the big fireworks finale!
Sagre della Pizza and della Foccaccia - Buscemi
August 30th - verify date On the hilltop directly across from Palazzolo in the village of Buscemi, is held the Sagre della Pizza and della Foccacia. Bring your appetite.
A celebration honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes. Featuring all of the different foods of southeastern Sicily.
2nd week of September - San Giacomo, Sicily
Celebrated in the small town of San Giacomo, the celebration lasts for a week and has different events nightly. Food booths, carnival rides, singing, dancing and live bands.
CousCous Festival
20th to 29th of September 2019
More than just couscous! Fun for the entire family. Cooking lessons, concerts, dancing...This year will be the 21st annual event.
Ottobrata Zafferanese - An event of the City of Zafferana Etnea
Throughout the month of October
L 'Ottobrata Zafferanese is an important cultural event exhibition that takes place every Sunday in the month of October in the historic center of Zafferana ( CT ).
A month long celebration featuring traditional horse drawn carts, parades, food, wines, music and dancing. Featuring Saga del Ôuva (grapes), the apples of Etna, mushrooms and honey, chestnuts and wine.
Established in the early eighties as a simple market-exhibition of local products, has evolved over time in the direction of a complex event, full of different facets, which annually attracts hundreds of thousands [1] of visitors from all over the Sicily and beyond.
The Ottobrata is divided into four or five festivals (depending on the number of Sundays in the month of October):
• Festival of grapes
• Festival of honey
• Festival of apples Etna
• Festival of mushrooms
• Festival of chestnuts
Undisputed heros of each Sunday are the typical products of the earth, and their derivatives: the grapes, the wine , the mustard , honey, apples and seasonal fruits ( prickly pears , pomegranates , walnuts , hazelnuts , chestnuts , pistachios etc..), porcini mushrooms and other varieties of Etna, the ' oil , the olives and preserved in oil. A large space is devoted to crafts and visitors can, along the route of the historic center, stop and observe the ancient crafts now in danger of extinction (sculptors of wood and lava stone, painters shores of Sicilian carts , embroiderers, workers wrought iron, puppeteers etc..). The Piazza Umberto I is home to many stands where you can taste the local sweets (skiers, the donuts, the almond paste, tea leaves, etc.), liqueurs, wines, honey, nougat and the caramelized nuts, pistachio ice cream and many other delicacies. In the Villa Comunale, below the square, are placed booths displaying and selling meats, cheeses and preserves typical Sicilian food.
A large space, that of the former municipal sports field, is used as a gastronomic sector in which visitors can enjoy delicious local sandwiches with sausage and pork or horse, eggplant, peppers, mushrooms and olives seasoned. A space is also reserved to voluntary associations and social solidarity for the information and the collection of funds for humanitarian purposes.
The Ottobrata Zafferanese integrates the exposure of local products and selling them to cultural events is very important for the whole area of Etna, with conferences and debates on issues related to the protection and recognition of the quality of local products, screening of documentaries on Etna and its territory, excursions to fascinating places, performances by musical groups and dance, exhibitions and much more.
The event is organized every year by a special committee, with the support and collaboration of the City of Zafferana, the Province of Catania , the Sicilian Region , dell ' Etna Park Authority , the Chamber of Commerce of Catania, Associations Terre Etna and Alcantara, City of Vulcan, City of Wine, City of Honey, Apples Manufacturers Etna, Etna Wine Roads.
Festa di Artisti di Strada Ibla Buskers - Festival of Street Artists - Ragusa, Ibla
October 6 - 9 - verify dates
4 days of music, theatre, circus arts, aerial acrobatics, funny puppets and fireworks. Up to 50,000 visitors attended the event last year!Be sure to visit and casually wander the ancient stone walkways watching the various street performers and sample all of the wonderful foods. www.iblabuskers.it
Agrimontana in Palazzolo Acreide
Around the 3rd Weekend of October - verify dates
Sample the local traditional flavors of Palazzolo and the surrounding area. Be sure not to miss the sausages and honey.
"Chocobarocco" - Modica Chocolate Festival - Modica, Sicily
3rd to 8th of December - verify actual dates
Also referred to as Chocobarocco, the festival is dedicated to the delicious chocolate made in Modica with the same processes introduced hundreds of years ago by the Spaniards. Handed down over the centuries little has changed over the years. Come and taste the wonderful diverse flavors of Modica chocolate; Chili pepper, cinnamon, vanilla, orange, sea salt, white pepper, cardamom, marjoram, nutmeg and of course regular chocolate flavor!
On the main shopping street Corso Umberto 1, 159 Modica, Sicily
Presepe Vivente - Living Nativity Scene - Giarratana, Ragusa Ibla, Scicli, Palazzolo, Monterosso Almo, Chiaramonte Gulfi and many other towns in the area.
Check for dates from late December to early January.
Also many other scenes of Sicilian life from hundreds of years ago. A fascinating look back in history reenacted before your very eyes. Stroll through the streets of old Giarratana and let your imagination take you back to a bygone era.
Nearly all of the cities in the area such as Ragusa Ibla, Scicli, Palazzolo, Monterosso Almo, Chiaramonte Gulfi and many others have similar events, all well worth viewing.
Please Note: While every effort has been made to provide the correct dates and locations of events and sights in this website, the authors assume no liability as to the accuracy of the dates or locations contained in this website. Please verify all dates and locations prior to planning your visit.
