History

The first Italian Festival in Adelaide was held in 1976 in Rundle Mall.

A parade, made up of migrant families travelled from Victoria Square to Elder Park before ending with celebrations in the Mall itself.

Originally called The Italian Festival, and later known as “Carnevale”, the Adelaide Italian Festival is proud to return to our original name, as we honour those who have come before us.

The festival has been held in a number of locations over the years including; Rundle Mall, Elder Park, Norwood and Adelaide Ovals, Rymill Park and the Adelaide Showgrounds.

Historically, our festival has been a means of inspiring young people to embrace their Italian heritage and for the wider community to experience Italian culture.

The event also raised funds to cater for welfare needs of the elderly in the Italian community through the Co-ordinating Italian Committee (CIC) and supported other worthy charities and organisations across our broad community.