Qormi's Casal Fornaro: ‘a night where culture comes to life’

James Piscopo writes about Qormi's annual activity, Casal Fornaro.

Qormi hosts annual activity, 'Casal Fornaro'
Qormi hosts annual activity, 'Casal Fornaro'

A Spanish proverb says 'A day without bread, lasts long'. Qormi, the locality most known for its traditional bread-making, will seek to celebrate this tradition together with Qormi's culture and history, through the event 'Lejl f'Casal Fornaro'.

Qormi's historical relation with bread-making dates back to the Knights, when Grandmasters of the Knights of St. John issued decrees for the building of public ovens and bakeries in the town of Qormi. Historians point two main reasons behind this decision: first to ensure a constant supply of fresh bread to the newly-built capital city of Valletta, while the other hypothesis is the eradication of the marshes in Marsa, where mosquitoes and other pests used to live in abundance.

This local history instigated numerous youths from the St. Sebastian parish to organise the 'Lejl f'Casal Fornaro' event, with the intent of keeping alive Qormi's identity while promising the public a night where culture comes to life.

This event is going to be spread on two days, Friday 14th and Saturday 15th September. The focus of Friday's activity, entitled 'Festa tal-Ħobż' is the maltese traditional bread, where the main attraction is going to be a 100 metre innovative baguette (profits to be donated to l-Istrina). On this day, one can also savour the taste of different bread from different countries, due to the presence of Egyptian, Sicilian and Italian bakers who will exhibit and sell their respective bread famous in their own country. This activity on Friday will be complemented with the best entertainment, including live performances from Airport Impressions and Mikaela & Band.

On Saturday 15th September, the sixth edition of 'Lejl f'Casal Fornaro' will portray the town as it was back in time, with particular attention given to traditional decorations and adornments,  folkloristic ambiance, Maltese food and platters and live drama. Entertainment will be distributed on six different stages, with a variety of Jazz, Rock, Maltese Għana, folkloristic dance and live band marches. There will be different artistic displays and agricultural exhibitions, and an old traditional bakery will be open as well.

The public is invited to view all the details and attractions on www.casalfornaro.com or join the virtual community on Facebook.