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Choir music echoed through the hall as people drifted between food stalls, sharing plates of salami and cups of coffee. Kids dashed past retirees while an accordion kept the rhythm alive. All of it unfolded last weekend, August 30 and 31, at the Veneto Club’s first Salami Festa.
A Tradition Turned Festival
Kon Monos, the club’s general manager, hurried from stall to stall to help with tasks but still paused to soak in the scene. “I’m so excited,” he said. “It’s not only about salami or spaghetti — it’s about Italian culture.”
Monos explained how the idea began. Club members often gathered to share their homemade salami, joking about whose was best. “About this time last year, the board decided to turn that tradition into something bigger,” he said.
The Veneto Club, founded by Italian migrants in the late 1960s, hosted the Salami Festa for the first time this year, drawing over 800 people.
Food and Memory
For many, it was a chance to connect food, memory and heritage. Sueli, who grew up in Brazil, came with her Australian-Italian partner. “We used to make salami at home exactly the same way they do here,” she said. “It reconnects me with the traditions I had as a child — food we love, enjoyed as a family. I even spoke Italian with a few people here, which I really enjoyed.”
That sense of belonging rippled through the crowd. Families posed for photos, newcomers tried Veneto-style sausages, and longtime members chatted with neighbours. In Manningham, where about 9% of residents claim Italian ancestry, according to the 2021 Australian Census, the Festa struck a deep chord.
Take Anna, who came with her family of four. “It’s really fun… the taste testing is delicious, and everyone is so friendly. It’s like Europe — it feels like home,” she said.
Bringing the Community Together
For Monos, that was exactly the point. “What we’re seeing now is the second and third generations making salami — and even Australians outside the Italian community joining in,” he said. “It’s no longer just Italian-oriented, but something broader that brings cultures together.”
After the performance, the choir singers were still in their matching jackets, sat down with plates of pasta and salami, trading stories in a mix of English and Italian. Around them, families lingered over coffee, still lingering in the warmth of the day.
