We’re in the middle of summer, and apart from the soul-crushing heat waves and tortuous power-cuts, it has been an enjoyable summer so far. Festa season is in full gear, and while feasts might not be everyone’s cup of tea, they undoubtedly hold an important place in our collective consciousness.

Village feasts might be a bit of a nuisance to some of us who might not appreciate their importance. Fine a road or two might be closed off for traffic, to make way for a procession or a band march, while fireworks might wake you up at 8 o’ clock on a weekend!

But even these elements, together with an unbelievable cultural, social and artistic heritage, are intrinsic parts of an exercise where the community comes together to celebrate itself, once a year.

Festa time is a time for celebration and reconnecting with one’s own roots. Often, we see how people who might have moved away from their childhood villages, will very willingly return for the feast, to rekindle friendships and acquaintances. Families also reunite, with feasts serving as an occasion to spend quality time with cousins and distant relatives.

But apart from all of this, feasts are an intrinsic part of our cultural identity. They are intimately linked, especially the older ones, with our history and journey as a nation.

It is no surprise that tourists are fascinated by the colourful decorations and pageantry of the religious functions. They express a heritage which has continued to evolve across the decades to remain relevant, albeit with its natural limitations.

Our feasts thus, are often the centrepiece for touristic promotional material both by national agencies as well as private enterprises. And this is where it gets rather frustrating for many festa enthusiasts, in a rapidly modernising Malta.

While feasts and all their glory are excellent colourful material to adorn the front pages of our promotional magazines and websites, very little is done at a formal level to support and assist their survival. Feasts are only made possible through the unwavering dedication of thousands of committed people who invest their time and resources to the cause they love.

This comes at great personal sacrifice which often takes the devotion of entire families.

While grants to assist in the creation of festa decorations and the likes do exist and are periodically offered by Government, little is done to truly address the great challenges being faced by feasts.

The constant increase in expenses is truly worrying. Fund raising events which used to be the central source of income for feasts, are competing with a hundred other forms of entertainment, and feasts have had to resort to increasingly creative ways to make ends meet. The challenges are real, and many feasts have had to downsize certain elements because they couldn’t afford the expenses.

Cooperation, or lack thereof, from certain authorities complicates matters further. Navigating the bureaucracy and complexity of organising a feast requires quite a level of expertise. When combined with ever-changing regulations it can truly become a minefield.

Feasts have given a passion to entire generations of people. They were and still are the breeding grounds for innumerable craftspersons who have since moved on to create very rewarding personal careers. They have given young people useful skill sets such as working within a team, meeting a deadline, or creating something for the common good.

Government needs to sustain village feasts more, and more directly. Sadly, if something very tangible and very effective isn’t done, they might not survive another serious blow like Covid.

With our village cores under siege and our values constantly threatened, village feasts might be one of the last few refuges of our communities. So, the next time you come across a road closure, or you are woken up at 8 o’ clock on a Sunday, try to appreciate the immense dedication of many people that goes into keeping a community alive.

I wish to thank all festa enthusiasts for their hard work, and wish them the very best for their festa!