- Qormi Wine Festival
Towns (Malta)
name = Qormi Wine festival
motto = a taste of the Mediterranean
official_name = The Qormi Wine Festival
location = Main Street Qormi
entrance = free
music = a variety of music from the Mediterranean region__NOTOC__
Qormi Wine Festival is an event organized in
Qormi Malta in the first week of September (since September 2005) by Kumitat Festi Esterni.This incredibly popular social event has become a meeting place for thousands of wine enthusiasts who come along each year to join in the celebrations that are organized at the peak of the Maltese grape harvest. People from all walks of life look forward to this cultural event.
This festival is organized in the streets of Qormi, in front of St. George's Parish Church. The two-day free event brings together a large scale organization with vast promotion all over the island.
Five exhibitions, ranging from wine, paintings, photo, floral and another of historical and cultural treasures found in Qormi, will be concurrently held during the Qormi Wine Festival, between the 5th and 6th September, turning the event into a holistic cultural experience in its own right.
The organising committee’s premises will be converted into an exhibition space that recreates the atmosphere inside the typical traditional wine bar, very common in the Maltese Islands at the turn of the century. The Ta’ Kurun wine bar is set up complete with old wooden barrels, wooden stools and an authentic wooden bar, together with life-size models of men drinking wine, giving a perfect illustration of life in the typical village wine bar. Wall panels give historical information about the wine-traditions of Qormi, a village well known for its wine-making culture. This particular exhibition will open a prior to the festival, from Sunday 31 August, and will remain open for the visiting public until Saturday 6th September.
Alley number 1 in Main Street in Qormi will also serve as a temporary exhibition hall, featuring paintings by Daniel Scerri on the Byzantine style. The artist uses different media to create his works, alternating between wood panels ranging from wooden doors and other boards that come to hand, as well as stone and canvas.
For the first time, Alley number 6 in the same street will feature a photographic exhibition with works by Christopher Azzopardi, displaying colour and black & white photos having crafts as a common underlying theme.
Also for the first time, a floral exhibition will be held on the two days following the competition held on the festival’s first evening. Sixteen students from the Micallef Grimaud Ladies’ Academy will create floral displays centring around the theme of the Maltese traditional festa. The exhibition will be held in a purposely set up hall in Main Street. Amongst the floral arrangements on display there will also be the three winners that would have won the best prizes in the competition held on the festival’s first night.
The St George’s Parish Museum, adjacent to the church in St George’s Street, will also be open for the occasion. It is usually open on one occasion during the year, but will be specifically opened, until late, for those visiting Qormi for the Wine Festival.
The museum will probably serve as a highlight to the culturally-minded visitor, displaying several works of art that are inherent to Qormi’s and the parish’s cultural history, dating as far back as the 15th Century. Paintings by Mattia Preti, Francesco Zahra and Stefano Erardi are displayed a few metres away from paintings that adorned the St George’s Parish in bygone years, including the first titular painting with panels. Several historical documents, including those related to the construction of the present church, dating as far back as the 17th Century are also on display, as are designs of antique silverware, actual antique wooden chandeliers and models of Good Friday processional statues.
Of particular note is the 18th Century carriage used by Grand Master Pinto to travel from his beloved Città Pinto. Recent collections include the actual model of the golden sandals created by Alfred Camilleri Cauchi and models of sculptural works used to decorate the choir area inside St George’s Church at the turn of this century by Silvio Pace from Qormi.
Entrance to all these exhibitions is free of charge.
Cuisine
The Wine Festival offers a variety of platters offering a unique taste of the Mediterranean
- Maltese traditional platter
- Italian spaghetti
- Spanish
paella - Greek stufado
- Pork with potatoes
- "Imqaret": Maltese traditional sweets
Media
"Lehen il-Belt Gorgjana" is broadcasting on 105.6 fm, and opened in April 2008. It brought together all the committees which work in St George's Parish. It was the first qormi station to organize a 25hrs music marathon.
"Calypso Radio" broadcasts LIVE the first day of this festival on 101.8fm.
References
* Festa 2008, Publikazzjoni Kumitat Festi Esterni San Gorg Martri
External links
* [http://www.freewebs.com/ultrasgorgjani/ Ultras Gorgjani]
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