Valdidentro Mountain Feast: The Lumberjack's Feast

At the close of the summer season, the Valdidentro Mountain Feast takes center stage, a two-day celebration honoring the mountains, their traditions, and the area’s identity.

An event that brings together residents and visitors to experience the Alpine world up close, with moments of sharing, culture, flavors, and fun for all ages.

After Al dì de la Bronza, dedicated to the world of alpine pasture and agricultural tradition, the second day shines a spotlight on another element deeply tied to the history and life of our mountains: the forest and the work of the lumberjack.

Once again, the traditional Festa del Boscaiolo returns, masterfully organized by the Gruppi Pedenosso 2000, who once more bring passion, experience, and great teamwork to create a day that brings together competition, tradition, craftsmanship, music, and good food.

A well-established event, where the knowledge and skill of lumberjacks meet the desire to come together and pass on an important part of Valdidentro’s identity to younger generations.

🪵 The Lumberjack Triathlon

The highlight of the day will once again be the highly anticipated Lumberjack Triathlon, starting at 09:00, where professional and amateur lumberjacks will compete in a series of spectacular challenges.

Axe and chainsaw will take center stage in contests where strength alone will not be enough: technique, precision, speed, and experience will be needed to tackle the various events at their best and secure the final standings.

Over the years, this competition has become one of the most eagerly awaited moments of the festival, allowing the public to observe up close the gestures and skills tied to a profession that has accompanied mountain communities for generations.

The challenges will run through much of the day and continue into the afternoon, up to the final awards ceremony. 

🪚 Wood Takes Shape

The Festa del Boscaiolo will be about more than competition.

Throughout the day, wood sculptors and craftsmen will be present, creating their works directly in front of the public. It will be a chance to see how a simple log can take shape through experience, creativity, and craftsmanship and be transformed into something unique.

A presence especially meaningful to Valdidentro: over the years, these craftsmen have helped create several wooden works and installations that can now be found along the cycle paths and in other parts of the area.

Adding even more to this space will be friends from the Associazione Valtellina Intagliatori e Intarsiatori, who will bring to the festival their great passion for woodworking, showcasing techniques, tools, and creations.

So not only works to admire, but above all the chance to see hands at work and discover how much patience, experience, and knowledge lies behind every creation. 

🧵 Traditions, craftsmanship, and activities for everyone

To complete the story of trades and handcrafts, the Bormio Ricama association will also be present, with activities and demonstrations open to both adults and children.

Another way to rediscover techniques and knowledge passed down over time and, above all, to bring younger generations closer to those forms of craftsmanship that are part of the area’s culture and history.

The Festa del Boscaiolo thus becomes a place where you don’t just watch, but can meet the people who carry on these passions, ask questions, and observe their work up close. 

🪗 The music of Alberto and his young pupils

And what would a festival be without music?

Accompanying the various moments of the day will be the accordions of Alberto Canclini and his students, with a repertoire that will instantly evoke the atmosphere of village festivals and Alpine tradition.

A presence that also carries a special meaning: alongside Alberto’s experience, there will in fact be young musicians who are learning and carrying on their passion for the accordion, helping keep alive a musical tradition deeply linked to our mountains. 

🍽️ At 13:00, the Lumberjack Lunch

At midday, space will be devoted to one of the event’s most convivial and eagerly awaited moments.

At 13:00, everyone to the table for the traditional Lumberjack Lunch, open to all, with cuisine and hospitality by the Gruppi Pedenosso 2000.

Lumberjack Lunch Menu

• Spring veal bites
• Grilled sausage
• Oven-baked chicken drumstick
• Valtellina polenta
• Mountain cheese
• Dessert

A moment to come together, share the flavors of mountain cuisine, and enjoy the festival together before returning to watch the afternoon’s challenges and activities.

After lunch, in fact, the day will continue with the Lumberjack Triathlon, the work of sculptors and craftsmen, demonstrations, music, and entertainment, up to the much-anticipated awards ceremony. 

🌲 A festival that tells the story of the bond with the forest

Beyond the spectacular nature of the challenges, the Festa del Boscaiolo above all preserves the desire to tell the story of a world that belongs deeply to Valdidentro’s history.

For generations, the forest has been a place of work, a source of livelihood, and an integral part of everyday life in Alpine communities. Knowing wood, knowing how to use the tools, working safely, and passing on techniques and skills meant possessing a heritage built through years of experience.

The festival makes it possible to rediscover all this in a day spent together: the sound of chainsaws and axe blows, the scent of freshly worked wood, the craftsmen’s hands, the sound of accordions, and the pleasure of sitting down together at the table.

And it is thanks to the great commitment of the Gruppi Pedenosso 2000, together with the associations, craftsmen, musicians, participants, and everyone who helps make the event possible, that this tradition continues to renew itself every year.

With the Festa del Boscaiolo, the Valdidentro Mountain Feast comes to a close: two different days united by the same thread, that of a community choosing to celebrate the mountains, work, its traditions, and the people who continue to keep them alive.