Events for a few and many: the Commission for Culture and Tourism animates Brissago
Behind every event, big or small, there is a lot of effort and a lot of work. Design, organization and management. The Commission for Culture and Tourism (CCT), coordinated by the municipality of Veronica Marcacci Rossi, responsible for the Dicastery for Culture, Education and Leisure, is the engine and point of reference for everything that animates the country between summer and winter. Suffice it to say that last year the Commission proposed around forty events, including fortnightly markets. Some also have a strong tourist impact, such as the Feast of Fires, scheduled for Saturday 15 July, others are aimed mainly at the resident population.
In the CCT calendar there are proposals for everyone and for all ages: “This is one of the guidelines we try to follow when designing the programme. We have created a group of ten Commissioners, very helpful and close-knit, and thanks to the work of all, when we come together ideas are born and solutions are found to organizational and logistical problems, which are not few. Another fundamental element that makes Brissago a lively and lively town and not only a beautiful lakeside village, is the close and constant collaboration we have established with the many companies operating in the area. I therefore believe that ''collaboration'' is the magic word that makes everything we propose throughout the year possible''.
A collaboration that is also extending beyond the borders of Brissago, since this year the CCT has created an agenda shared with Ronco Sopra Ascona, with the dual objective of avoiding overlapping events and involving the population of both municipalities in the various initiatives. The agenda, with the full calendar of events, can be found on the CCT website: https://www.brissago.ch/it/commissione-cultura-e-turismo.
Veronica Marcacci Rossi says she is very satisfied with the response of the people, who reward a demanding job and entirely based on volunteering: “We have a variable target, depending on the proposals, and I believe that we can draw a positive balance from the participation profile. Obviously, food and wine events, or those of great appeal, such as the fireworks show, which last year brought the record figure of two thousand people to the lakefront, are much more frequented than others that we could define as niche. Among the latter, I would mention, for example, the guided stand-up paddle exit that will start from the municipal Lido on Sunday 23 July, or the night excursion to the Al Legn to see the sunrise, with breakfast at the Refuge, which we will propose on Saturday 29 July. It is clear that these proposals are addressed to a small number of participants, but the important thing is that those who take part can spend time carefree and out of the daily routine.
The highlight of the summer will be the Feast of Fires, which for the fourth time will take place along the entire lakefront route, from the old port to the Resiga port. From 5 p.m. onwards, there will be various refreshment points run by the country’s clubs, entertainment for children in the tennis area, live music with different groups and a Surf Tribe Watersport show. The Festival will be officially opened by the firing of the cannons at 6 pm on Saturday 15 July, then at 10:30 pm there will be the fireworks show. For those who want to try their hand at the keyboard, in the Gabietta area there will also be the ‘free piano’, a novelty that was very successful during the Easter market. But the great novelty of this edition will be the opportunity to admire the fireworks from a boat of the Navigazione Lago Maggiore, at a cost of only 10 francs. However, there are few places available: 160. Registration is therefore compulsory, by writing to info@brissago.ch.
In August, the CCT will also propose an evening of open-air cinema for families and young people in a place to be defined and one at the port of the Resiga organized in collaboration with the Film Festival during which it will be possible to review a mythical work of world cinematography: “Birds” by Alfred Hitchcock. A lunch on Rabbit Island is on the agenda in September, while the second edition of the Autumn Festival will take place on 14 October in Piazza del Municipio. Then Christmas will come, with the lighting of the tree, the lights, the concerts, the market, and a great novelty that for now the municipality does not reveal. With regard to flea markets, the fortnightly market will no longer be organised due to insufficient attendance, but the stalls will accompany the most popular events: At the Feast of Fires there will be, for example, about twenty exhibitors.
But the events we have told are only a small part of the program of the coming months. The rest can be found by consulting theshared agenda.