OttoBraidi — Autumn Festival in Braidi

OttoBraidi, the Nebrodi autumn in Braidi

OttoBraidi is the autumn festival of Braidi, a bustling village in the municipality of Montalbano Elicona, in the province of Messina, in the heart of the Nebrodi Park. Established in 2022, the event has quickly become one of the most anticipated autumn appointments in the Messina mountains: for an entire day in October, the small village transforms into a widespread stage of taste, tradition, and joy.

The flavors of the Nebrodi autumn

The heart of the festival is mountain gastronomy. Along the streets of Braidi, stalls offer typical seasonal products: porcini mushrooms, chestnuts, hazelnuts, cheeses, honey, and new-harvest olive oil. The absolute star of the kitchen is the Nebrodi black pork, a local gastronomic specialty, served in sandwiches with porchetta and mortadella, macaroni and pasta with black pork sauce, sausage stuffed with porcini, frittole, and roasted pancetta. There is no shortage of arancini with provola and porcini, or traditional sweets, from cannoli to sweet ricotta ravioli.

Folklore, music, and entertainment

Alongside the food and wine stalls and the local crafts market, which open in the morning, OttoBraidi offers a rich entertainment program: groups of Sicilian folk music, traditional dances, the classic parade of the Sicilian cart, and, in the evening, the unmissable dance party. Plenty of space is dedicated to children, with a play area, puppet theater, magic shows, baby dance, and Disney characters.

A village to discover

The festival is also an opportunity to visit Montalbano Elicona, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, and the evocative territory of the Nebrodi, with its woods, pastures, and ancient farming traditions. OttoBraidi combines the pleasure of good food with the rediscovery of the rural identity of this corner of Sicily, where autumn is the season of harvest and conviviality.