The spirit of competition, passion for food and thirst for uniqueness are among the reasons why Malta has seen a constant increase in village festivals celebrating anything from citrus to bruschetta.

Over recent years, the island experienced a growing calendar of culinary events organised in various localities. Mġarr has its strawberries festival, it’s ricotta in Kirkop and Żebbuġ promotes the oil. Qrendi yesterday held a day of activities with potato being the main theme.

Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

All seemed fine as people grasped the logic behind these activities: to celebrate products “indigenous” to specific towns and villages. But, as new festivals sprouted, the locality-produce link has become fuzzy.

Many were left scratching their heads when, for instance, it started raining ravioli in Mqabba as the village celebrated Festa Ravjul, inspired by the sagra del ravioli in Casalfiumanese, Italy.

Anthropologist Mark-Anthony Falzon says that what people perceive as “legitimate” festivals are linked to authentic products and this is how these food festivals started.

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

He dates their origin back to the early 1990s, the dawn of local councils.

“Towns already had celebrations but they were religious. Then, with the setting up of the local council, there was need to celebrate the locality in a secular way. And one way of doing this is to celebrate local produce,” he says.

The festivals started with the notion of terroir – local produce that symbolises a locality.

“Food can really come to symbolise the link between people and land,” he adds, pointout that this resulted in, for example, Manikata’s pumpkin festival, Qormi’s bread and wine event and Żurrieq’s fish fest.

Such festivals worked and attracted people, so other localities wanted to find an identity of their own to celebrate. Ħamrun, for example, found a link with chocolate and organised a chocolate festival.

Then, he notes, localities started thinking outside the box. One clear example was Qormi. No one really questioned the bread and wine festival, given that the locality is famous for bakers and wine-makers. But festivals dedicated to bananas and to the imported chocolate spread Nutella were also held.

Food can really come to symbolise the link between people and land

Qormi mayor Rosianne Cutajar is quick to stress that the local council only supports three festivals – the wine, bread and summer festivals.

The banana and Nutella festivals, she insists, are “commercial activities” that have nothing do to with the council and often cause problems for residents because of the noise and inconvenience.

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

In her opinion, a legal notice that does not allow the council much flexibility when it comes to refusing permits for such events needs to be strengthened.

Dr Falzon however points out that, while the banana and Nutella festivals may very well be “commercial activities”, people in Qormi’s streets told him they originated from a different form of tradition – the pique between two parishes.

“The version I heard is that the Nutella and the banana festivals are all down to the good-natured pique between St George and St Sebastian. Both festivals were organised, largely, by the St George people,” he says.

He adds that supporters of St George’s parish often tease those of St Sebastian insisting the statue of the patron saint has feminine features.

“As it happens, banana and Nutella are two products that lend themselves to this. Banana for obvious reasons and Nutella because, in Maltese, they use the term ċikkulatu... even though it has nothing to do with chocolate,” he says.

His point is, whether true or not, the fact of the matter is that locals are interpreting it that way. The meaning that locals attach to such events, should not be discounted.

This weekend, Cospicua held its first bruschetta festival. Some questioned why the Maltese community celebrated the Italian bread variety and not, for example, the Maltese ħobż biż-żejt. On this point Dr Falzon says: “There’s this mix of some kind of notion of authenticity plus some innovation about these festivals.”

Cospicua mayor Alison Zerafa says that, while the official annual council event is ‘Christmas by the Dock’, held in December, the council decided to support the bruschetta festival.

It was the idea of Ċentru 19 ta’ Novembru, that handles external festivities, and the council decided to support them once they included local elements such as the traditional boat show.

“These events are important for the people because they feel united and feel they can contribute to their locality. The associations and volunteers work together for an activity,” she says.

Mġarr mayor Paul Vella agrees. The locality’s successful strawberry festival is important to farmers but there is also the social aspect. “It brings volunteers together and creates a sense of community and of working for one goal. It also helps pass on this sense of belonging to young people.”

Dr Falzon stresses this is an important element. In a nutshell, he says, this mushrooming of festivals can be attributed to competition and consumption.

Then, he adds, there is the more theoretical argument – that the homogenisation brought about by globalisation sets off a reaction called localism.

“This is localism par excellence. It is being celebrated and, literally, consumed,” he says stressing that one cannot ignore that people ultimately go to festivals because they enjoy such events.