Lygon Street was inundated with navy blue on Monday, as the entire Carlton playing list paid a visit to their heartland.
With Multicultural Round kicking off this weekend, the Blues were equipped with hundreds of flyers promoting the ‘Many Cultures, One Game’ Festival at Yarra Park this Saturday.
From 11.30am until 5.30pm there will be loads of free and fun activities for the entire family and plenty of entertainment.
The Festival coincides with Carlton’s Round 19 clash with Collingwood at the MCG – the showpiece game for Multicultural Round.
Carlton’s president Mark LoGiudice, who was also out and about on Lygon Street, says it’s important for Carlton to reconnect with its cultural roots.
“We’re celebrating Multicultural Round for the AFL and Carlton’s got a great connection and long history with Lygon Street – what a great start to the round,” he said.
“Today’s a great time for these guys to get in among the traders and reconnect with the people on Lygon Street.”
The boys visited Grill’d, DOC Espresso, Ti Amo, the Carlton Newsagency, Donninis, University Cafe, Criniti's, Brunetti’s and Trotters, while Carlton’s leadership group including Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs took a tour of CO.AS.IT, an Italian museum on Faraday Street.
All Carlton players gather at the steps of Lygon Street's Piazza Italia. (Photo: Carlton Football Club)
As well as handing out flyers the players were also on hand to take pictures and sign autographs.
Carlton takes on Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday afternoon, with the match kicking off at 1.45pm. Ahead of the game the Northern Blues will face Collingwood’s VFL side in a curtain raiser from 10.15am.
