A Taste of Napoli: Inaugural California Pizza Festival

californiapizzafest

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Remember envying Julia Roberts, on “Eat Pray Love“, when she devours an entire pizza margherita in Napoli?  We do!

Well DTLA…Welcome Neapolitan L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele from “Eat, Pray, Love” to DTLA! All the way from Italy, for TWO DAYS ONLY, that very pizzeria Julia Roberts sat in will bring unlimited pizza samples to the California Pizza Festival. This festival makes it’s California debut in DTLA on July 28 & 29 at Los Angeles Center Studios!

The California Pizza Festival is bringing together some of the World’s greatest pizzaiolos on Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29. Enjoy unlimited wood-fired pizza sampling, music, art, local beers, pizza acrobatics, giveaways, and more…tickets available now!

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The inaugural California Pizza Festival will feature unlimited pizza sampling from over 30 pizzerias from California, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, and world-renowned pizza chefs from Naples, Italy. For two days only people will flock from all over the world to Downtown Los Angeles for some of the world’s most authentic and famous pizza! This exciting event is all inclusive so bring your gluten-free, vegan, veggie, etc. foodie friends and family for a pizza experience never before lived in California.

Giancarlo Natale, Co-Director of Boston Pizza Festival and California Pizza Festival, is a native of Naples, Italy. Some of his fondest childhood memories include attending the Napoli Pizza Village Festival with his family. Even after moving to the U.S. he and his family continued to schedule family trips back home in order to attend the festival in Napoli. Raffaele Scalzi, Co-Director of Boston Pizza Festival and California Pizza Festival, owns Casa Mia Cucina Italiana in Marblehead, MA serving family recipes passed down through generations. Together the team has curated this event to immerse attendees in authentic, delicious, true to Italy styles of pizza and culinary experiences. The idea behind these US Pizza Festivals is to bring that same Naples, Italy experience to the U.S. in a celebration of all things pizza, the dish that brings people together!

Headliners

Headlining the event are two pizzaiolos being flown into the heart of Los Angeles all the way from Naples just for this event. Both, the oldest pizza-tavern pizzeria Port’Alba founded in 1738 and pizzeria Da Michele founded in 1870 (known for its feature in the film “Eat Pray Love“) will be represented and offering unlimited pizza samples. The Los Angeles pizza gurus: Vito Lacopelli of Prova Pizzeria, Fernando Darin of Ray’s & Stark Bar, and Ali Haider of 786 Degrees. From San Francisco, the one and only, twelve-time World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana. Co-Directors Giancarlo Natale and Raffaele Scalzi have partnered with Marra Forni to supply hand-crafted wood-fired pizza ovens for participating chefs at the event, each and every oven is a beautiful, unique piece of art.

Pizza Lovers

Pizza lovers come for all-you-can-eat Neapolitan, Sicilian, New York, and many more pizza styles. Vegan and Gluten Free pizza lovers they have several options for you also. When you thirst for something to wash that pizza down or simply cleanse your palette in between tastings grab a local Los Angeles brew from Golden Road Brewery if you prefer wine The Winebow Group will be your stop. Don’t drink? Don’t worry, sparkling water by Ferrarelle and several non-alcoholic options will be available too.

Entertainment

Come for the pizza, stay all day for the entertainment. Performances include pizza acrobatics by Pizza Acrobat Danilo Pagano, pizza-making demos from United States Pizza Team, cookbook signing, meet-and-greet with Chef Tony Gemignani (twelve-time World Pizza Champion), live music, and giveaways from event sponsors and much, much more!

My partner [Giancarlo Natale] and I are thrilled to bring a slice of Italy to Los Angeles through California
Pizza Festival. With renowned pizza chefs from all over the world, spanning from Southern California
to Georgia to Italy, the event unites a huge community of pizza lovers. Pizza makes people happy and
we’re using that to bring people together with live music, pizza acrobatics, and fun for everyone!-Raffaele Scalzi, Co-Director Boston Pizza Festival and California Pizza Festival.

The California Pizza Festival

The California Pizza was founded by co-directors Giancarlo Natale and Raffaele Scalzi. Both gentlemen with strong Italian roots and deep heritages, they look to bring to the U.S. an event reminiscent of festivals in their homeland. They are also the creators of the Boston Pizza Festival which has been extremely successful in upping the pizza game, not only in Boston but nationally. Thus by Angelino pizzaiolo’s demands, the California Pizza Festival is born…

Participating Culinary Talent and Eateries

786 Degrees – Sun Valley, CA
Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba – Naples, Italy
Da Michele – Naples, Italy
Da Pasquale – Beverly Hills
Dominic’s Italian Restaurant – Oceanside
Dough and Joe – Los Angeles
Fahrenheit LA – Los Angeles
Fiamme Pizza – Tucson, AZ
Local Pizzaiolo – Atlanta, GA
Humble Crust pizza truck – Los Angeles
La Parolaccia Osteria – Long Beach
Le 5 Stagioni – Curtarolo, Italy
MOD Pizza – Los Angeles
Naked City Pizza – Las Vegas
Prova Pizzeria – Los Angeles
Ray’s and Stark Bar – Los Angeles
Settebello – Los Angeles
State of Mind Public House & Pizzeria – Los Altos, CA

and more…

Tickets

On sale now, single-day festival tickets are available to be purchased online via calipizzafestival.com. General Admission tickets are $45/person when purchased in advance and will be $60/person on day of event. Children’s tickets are available for $20/child ages 4-10. VIP tickets are also available for $89/person and include exclusive access to the indoor-outdoor VIP space, a private bar, and three beverage vouchers.

Get your tickets before the venue reaches capacity or prices go up.

Location

Los Angeles Center Studios is located at 450 South Bixel Street in Downtown Los Angeles. www.calipizzafest.com

Sponsors

Support for California Pizza Festival comes thanks to Caulipower, Anheuser-Busch, The Winebow Group, Le 5 Stagioni, Marra Forni, Ferrarelle, Entercom Communications, Angelo & Franco Mozzarella, Bianco DiNapoli and Monti Trentini.

Additional Information

For more information, please visit the California Pizza Festival website, and follow California Pizza Festival on Facebook and Instagram. www.calipizzafest.com

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Author: DTLAPR

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