Tontitown spaghetti and family a Grape Festival tradition

TONTITOWN -- Family tradition rests at the heart of the Tontitown Grape Festival -- a tradition carried on through the making of spaghetti.

Silvia Pianalto Hall is familiar with the kitchen of the St. Joseph Catholic Church Parish Hall. She has spent countless hours there preparing thousands upon thousands of pounds of noodles and mixing immeasurable gallons of sauce.

"It started back with my grandparents," Hall said. "My mom and dad were active in it, and every one of us siblings have been active ever since. It's awesome. It's a neat way to get the community together."

The community has come together once again for the return of the Grape Festival, which kicked off Tuesday and continues through Saturday. Also returning is the festival's spaghetti dinners, a beloved staple attracting thousands of hungry visitors each day the dinner is held.

"We serve an average of 2,300 to 2,500 people each night," said Chris Martini, festival chairman.

The spaghetti dinner starts at the Parish Hall at 4:30 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday. Martini said to expect a long, winding line of people waiting to get in.

"About 220 people is what we can seat at a time, and then we just roll them through this door as they get up and leave," Martini said. "Our volunteers are cleaning up, wiping down tables, and they're coming through, getting their spaghetti dinner and sitting down. It's just a rotating flow of people."

Around 25 to 30 volunteers prepare and serve food and clean and prepare tables during the dinners, Hall said.

Aside from spaghetti, the dinner consists of two pieces of chicken, a roll, salad and either water, tea or coffee. Wine is sold outside the Parish Hall, Martini said.

The dinner is $12 for adults and $6 for kids 12 and younger, he said.

The spaghetti dinner not only attracts community members from Northwest Arkansas, but also from across the state and neighboring states, Martini said.

Community members gather for two weeks in July to make the 3,000 pounds of pasta for the festival's dinners.

"It's eggs and flour, and it's a very long process," Hall said.

Around 45 to 50 people participate in the pasta making, Martini said.

"It's mashing it out, rolling it, cutting it, hanging it," he said. "Grandparents to grandkids are up here. It's the tradition!"

The noodles are stored until the festival, when cooking resumes with sauce making.

Volunteers make about 90 gallons of sauce each day of the festival, enough to fill 480 24-ounce jars daily. Hall and fellow volunteers, including her brother Pat Pianalto, start making the sauce at 8 a.m. The sauce recipe has endured for generations, Martini said.

"All the (tomato) paste comes in a can," he said. "We open the cans, we put the meat in, cook the meat, put the sauce, the onions and all the ingredients in there and mix it and stir, mix it and stir it, get it to the right consistency and let it cook."

Martini said the dedicated folks who prepare the sauce make it special.

Hall said it's a special feeling to be with family and friends, carrying on a tradition.

This is the 118th year of the festival. The event features carnival rides, musical acts and craft vendors, but once upon a time it was of a more simple nature.

"It was a celebration of thanksgiving by the Italians for the grape crops when they were grown," Hall said. "They all got together and celebrated, and then it just evolved into what it is today."

The harvest celebration was held in the summer because that's when the grapes ripened, Hall said.

The festival is still harvesting community togetherness and family heritage. Hall's husband, Jason, son Jacob and daughter Maddi are helping alongside her in the kitchen.

"My son was stirring the sauce with his dad, my daughter was helping me prepare all the ingredients to go in it," she said. "We have to teach them every step of the way."

Maddi Hall said she had fun preparing the sauce, but it was hard work.

Jason Hall said he started helping out eight years ago by washing dishes and now takes vacation time off his job at Federal Express to help in a variety of ways. He said his children are fortunate to be part of the festival.

"I think it benefits them greatly," he said. "They learn responsibility, and they learn it's all about the tradition that their family started many years ago. They should value it greatly."

The festival will always be a part of Silvia Hall's life.

"I don't think I've ever missed a day of the festival since I started coming," Hall said. "This is our tradition. This is where all of our friends and family gather. It's hard work, but we give thanks."

NW News on 08/11/2016