Garda Celebrates New Year with Fireworks, Gastronomy, and Cultural Shows
A spectacular firework display will welcome Garda as it marks the arrival of the third millennium. At midnight on December 31, fireworks will be lit: they will be provided by Ape Parente of Melara, who previously gained fame in recent days during a unique challenge that saw two specialized companies compete over Christmas among the olive trees. And, while waiting for midnight, a karaoke will also take place in the square, led by Rino Condercuri.
Shows and dining options for New Year’s Eve
Too cold to stay outdoors? Then you can opt for the restaurant tent: chefs from Ostiglia will serve a traditional dinner, with pilota risotto as the main dish. “We will repeat,” says Deputy Mayor Fabio Gaggia, “the New Year’s celebration in the square. Last year was incredibly successful. We expected 600 people, but 10,000 showed up. The hotels where the banquet was held paused their celebrations at midnight to allow guests to admire the fireworks along the lakeside. The town workers had to work all January 1 to clean up the remnants of the celebration. This year, the show will be even more spectacular.”
The technicians from Ape Parente are not revealing anything. “I only assure you there will be fun,” Romualdo Parente simply said. However, based on what they showed about ten days ago, the spectacle promises to be jaw-dropping.
Those who watched the show from the lakeside did not even have time to applaud: the launches from the port were continuous and rapid. Imaginative bombs dropped small parachutes with tied fireworks. The grand finale was extraordinary, with classic golden willows exploding both in the sky and on the lake’s surface. It’s no coincidence that this company has been the main organizer of the Festa del Redentore and the 2000 New Year’s celebrations in Venice, and has won competitions in Cape Town, Toronto, Vancouver, and Valencia.
The collaboration between Garda and Ostiglia
Among the key players of Garda’s New Year’s Eve celebrations is also Ostiglia, with its cuisine. Starting tomorrow and continuing until January 1, Garda transforms into a sort of dependance of the Po River. “From the Po to the Lake: Ostiglia in Garda” is the title of the three-day event proposed by this Mantuan locality, which was already on the Riviera last year for the first edition of Natale tra gli olivi.
For all three days, both lunch and dinner, Mantuan cuisine will be served under the restaurant tent along the lakeside. December 30 also features music: the excellent Giuseppe Verdi chorus from Ostiglia will perform opera pieces at the conference hall.
On January 1, the music will turn to Garda locals: at 3 PM, the Piccola Fanfara di Garda will perform. (a.p.)