This evening at least 600 people sat down under the new covered seating at the Johhny Moscardini sports stadium to enjoy this year's annual Fish and Chip Festival.
Freshly cooked pasta, grilled steak and sausages were also on the menu but this evening all eyes were on those freshly crisp fried fish and chips that you can only get once a year prepared by the expert hands of the AS Barga cooking team who have now been serving up pesce e patate for 25 years
Some of the story behind the Fish and Chip festival: It was from this town, population 11,000, that harsh economic conditions caused an exodus to the industrial centres of Scotland at the end of the 19th century. In such places as Ayr, Largs, Glasgow and Greenock, to hungry dockers and shipbuilders Italian immigrants sold fish and chips in the winter and ice-cream in the summer and so created a culinary culture that continues to this day. The names of Nardini, Conti and Marchetti became high street fixtures as the Italians grafted unremittingly. Some of the settlers returned upon retirement and, by way of homage, started the Pesce e Patate festival 25 years ago as a greasy-lipped celebration of emigration and homecoming. source and more from the article about the fish and chip festival from Oliver Bennett
27 Luglio al 16 Agosto si svolge la tradizionale Sagra del Pesce e Patate -- Fish and Chips. Tutte le sere si potrà gustare la specialità del pesce e patate, cucinato secondo la migliore tradizione bargo – scozzese. Ma si potranno mangiare anche diversi primi piatti, grigliati di carne, piatti freddi, dolci tipici, crepes ed altro ancora. La struttura, interamente coperta, permetterà di mangiare anche in caso di maltempo. Tutte le sere musica e ballo con orchestra. Sarà presente anche un'area attrezzata con giochi per bambini.