By: Christine E. Serio

christineserio@
downtownwilmington.com

As the weather begins to heat up for the summer, the City of Wilmington, DE sizzles with a festival and outdoor party season in full swing as soon as June hits.

The first week of June starts with ethnic festivals that highlight the diversity of the city, beginning with the Greek Festival from Tuesday, June 2 to Friday, June 5. “The Greek Festival has been a tradition in the City of Wilmington for many years,” said Carrie Gray, managing director of Wilmington Renaissance Corporation. “It is a fantastic celebration of the culture shared with the entire community.”

The Greek Festival is held at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and offers authentic food, dancing, music and church tours. For more information, visit www.holytrinitywilmington.org.

Right on the heels of the Greek Festival, the second cultural celebration begins. St. Anthonyof Padua’s Italian Festival will be held for the 35th year from June 7 to June 14.The event always includes rides, games, Italian food and music as well as contemporary bands and beer gardens. This year, there will be a few new elements as well.

“We are really excited to introduce a Venetian street scene to the festival this year as another element that expresses our pride in the Italian culture,” said Jim Del Grosso, festival chairman. “We will also have bocce tournaments so everyone can have a hands-on experience with the popular, traditional Italian game.”

The Italian Festival is all about tradition and celebrating Italy’s way of life. The Venetian street scene will include a bellini bar, paninni shop, an Italian Mercato with goods straight from Italy, constant entertainment and more.

The bocce tournaments, a game that is sometimes called lawn bowling, will begin on the first day and continue throughout the week. The game is meant for rookies and veterans. The week will end with the traditional procession of people, bands and statues of saints through the streets of Little Italy.

For more information, visit www.stanthonysfestival.com.

The DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, the first ever multi-day music festival in Delaware, is turning 21 this year. The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs created the event to honor the memory of the jazz legend Clifford Brown. This year, the festival will be held from June 15 to June 21 in Rodney Square in downtow n Wilmington.

Brown was a trumpeter whose life tragically ended early one summer morning in 1956. It was the result of a car accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which also claimed the life of promising young pianist Richie Powell. At 25, Clifford Brown had already left an indelible mark on jazz.

For more information, visit www.cliffordbrownjazzfest.com

As the June festivals wind down, the CityLife Block Parties kick off on Thursday, July 9 and will continue every other Thursday until Sept. 17.

The outdoor shindigs are held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the Plaza at City Center at 11th and Tatnall Streets in downtown Wilmington.

“The CityLife Block Parties have really become much-anticipated events in Wilmington,” said Gray. “They include live, local music, food from downtown restaurants and everyone just enjoys being outside to soak in the summer.”

For more information on the block parties, visit www.downtownwilmington.com.