Festival of the Land, Flavors, and Cultures

A festival that starts from the land

The Festival of the Land, Flavors, and Cultures is the event that enlivens Meletole every spring, a hamlet of the Municipality of Castelnovo di Sotto, in the province of Reggio Emilia, in the heart of the Emilian plain. The common thread, summarized in the subtitle "From the field to the flavors of the world", is the link between the land that is cultivated and the table that unites: from sowing to the plant, from the garden to the plate, up to the encounter between the many cultures that coexist today in this corner of the Lower Reggiana area.

Workshops for all ages

The afternoon is dedicated to practical activities, designed to involve children, teenagers, and adults. Activities range from the "from seed to plant" workshop to the "hands in dough" one, building kites, and discovering the art of making pasta dough as it used to be, an ancient and identity-forming gesture of Emilian tradition. Alongside the workshops, there are exhibitions of herbal plants, fruit, and vegetable plants, and "stories from the world" readings for the little ones (from 3 years old), also offered in their original languages to give voice to the diverse origins of the community.

The multi-ethnic aperitif and dances

The most anticipated moment arrives in the evening, when the space transforms into a large communal table: the multi-ethnic aperitif brings together specialties brought by families of foreign origin living in Meletole and its surroundings — Moroccan, Tunisian, Ghanaian, Nigerian, Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Syrian, Ukrainian flavors — in a mosaic of tastes that tells the intercultural vocation of the festival better than a thousand words. Afterwards, it's time for dances from all over the world, with music and rhythms from the various communities present.

A community project

The event is organized by the association Meletolè 2019 APS, founded by local volunteers who manage the "A. Ristori" sports field and the adjacent civic hall, with the patronage of the Municipality of Castelnovo di Sotto. It is an event that arises from the grassroots, built by residents to keep the recreational, sports, and cultural activities of the hamlet alive, and which makes the encounter between land, food, and peoples its beating heart.

Where it takes place

The festival is held at the civic hall of the "A. Ristori" sports field, on Via Melegari in Meletole, easily accessible from the center of Castelnovo di Sotto and also accessible to people with disabilities.