20-22 October 2017, the Festival Dell’Oriente visits Perugia which is only an hour from where I live. A friend I took the opportunity to go along and check it out on the first day. This is my review of a fabulous day out.
Festival Dell’Oriente – A Review
What is the Festival Dell’Oriente
The Festival Dell’Oriente is a three day, cultural immersion from the countries of the East. It is a travelling exhibition/experience. October 2017 marks the first time it has come to Perugia in Umbria, Italy. It is being held in the Umbriafiere, the regional exhibition centre at Bastia Umbra, just outside Perugia. This is easy to find and well signposted and lots of parking when you get there.
Upon Arrival
As you get out of the car you are greeted with oriental music playing over the loud speaker which really begins to create a mood of expectation. It costs 12 euros per person to enter and you get a free programme. The programme is A3 style, printed on both sides. One side gives you the main events and the other provides the layout of the exhibitions. The Festival dell’Oriente is held across three large exhibition halls, all linked and with plenty of refreshments, eateries and toilet facilities (and a cash machine facility – phew!).
Going through the main entrance you are greeted by someone painting a red bindi on your forehead as they wish you good fortune. That certainly brought a smile to our faces. You pass by Tibetan prayer wheels; turning the wheels offers up a prayer. And then you walk between two enormous Chinese Foo Dogs (Chinese Guardian Lions) as you go into the first exhibition hall and enter what they call the ‘Villagio Giaponese’ or Japanese Village.
First Impressions
The first impressions of the Festival Dell’Oriente is that the hall (as I have said, one of three) is enormous. There is a buzz of noise from visitors and music as well as a smell of incense. The Japanese Village includes Bonsai trees, an exhibition of kimonos and Samurai armour. Then you enter the serious market area with many stalls selling a variety of things.
Plenty of Shopping Opportunities
As the title ‘Festival Dell’Oriente’ would suggest, the market stalls in all three exhibition halls comprise all things Asian. This includes a large number of stalls selling clothing, Hindu and Buddhist statues, incense, crystals, jewelry, soft toy pandas, wall hangings, oriental throws and much, much, more! My friend and I bought various items. I added a Buddha statue (Tara) to my collection, as well as a beautiful lamp and some over door hangings.
Edible Delights
Food is not in short supply! There are a number of eating places scattered across the three halls where you can buy, for example, Tibetan, Indian, vegetarian, Thai, Japanese or Chinese food. Whilst some are fast food, others have seating areas where you can enjoy your food at a more leisurely pace. But there is also temptation on other stalls selling dried fruits, chocolates and, just to balance things, many different varieties of tea and spices.
Relaxation
There are plenty of opportunities to try out oriental therapies such as shiatsu, reflexology and head massage and also demonstrations of some of these therapies on the main exhibition stages. There are also areas set aside for meditation. One cafe offers an area to sit and enjoy a hookah pipe should that be your thing.
Varied Entertainment
It is difficult to keep up with all of the entertainment on offer. Each of the three halls has its own stage (and its own compere) and there is a written timetable of events at the edge of the stage. Musical entertainment includes drumming and different types of music. We saw a Mongolian three piece band on one stage, for example.
We saw some Lion Dancers who had an elaborate set up of platforms on which to perform their acrobatics. They were great fun. Magicians performed tricks and there were demonstrations of martial arts.
There are also dancers from different Asian countries performing at the festival. It is a feast for the eyes and the senses (although on occasion the music does seem a bit loud). The entertainment continues all day on each stage.
A Great Day Out
I have to say this is a great day out and highly recommended. While there are many stalls and tempting things on which to spend your hard earned cash, it should be noted that all of the entertainment and the opportunity to sample some of the produce and therapies is free (not all but some). So the €12 entry ticket is excellent value for money. It is also a great opportunity for photography, so you can expect some new images to appear in my online gallery soon. And now I just have to get Barnet Boy to put up the new door hangings and lamp…
Before you go
My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.
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Thank you for reading!
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