Giving bakers their due

For the ninth year consecutive year, the Qormi Bread Festival will make its way to the area around St Sebastian Church for two nights (September 10 and 11) of bread related activities spanning folklore, stand up comedy, exhibitions, organised visits to various bakeries and much more. In the run up to the event, a forum was held yesterday at Razzett l-Antik, Qormi which tackled the idea of Maltese bread as being integral to local heritage.

“The Maltese bread demonstrates the structure of the Maltese society,” says festival director Stefan Gauci Scicluna. “This can be seen mostly through the process of Maltese bread-making and the bakers who dedicate their lives to this work around the clock… all the baker’s family members would be involved in the process of Maltese bread-making.”

Gauci Scicluna also emphasises the importance of seeing Maltese bread within a wider context, which will enable us to appreciate it all the better. “The Maltese loaf should be seen in the light of what is happening in European context. During the Qormi Bread Festival we will be having a presentation showing bread of different countries, with particular emphasis on Mediterranean countries as our neighbouring countries, in order to understand better the Maltese loaf.”

Heritage aside, what really draws the crowds is the variety of food, drink and entertainment on offer. Affordable bread related treats will be available throughout, while the crowds will be entertained with comedy acts such as the popular Zoo, with a demonstration of the old village and the baker along other characters the troupe is famous for. “Moreover, there will be three stages – folklore, bands and Maltese music (ghana) and kids stage. All this guarantees a whole great experience of entertainment for the public,” Gauci Scicluna says.  

Visitors to the festival will also get to experience the legendary Qormi bakeries first hand. A vintage bus will pick up groups of people every half hour from the church, and they will experience a guided tour, with professionals explaining the processes of Maltese bread-making. 

“The popularity of the Qormi Bread Festival has been on the increase during these last few years, and for this year, the feedback has been very strong due the attractiveness of several activities that will be held on September 10 and 11.”

The festival kicks off at 19:30 on both days. For more information, log on to http://qormibreadfestival.org/.