Picture above: Group playing
Picture left: Editor Rob Howard and his wife Margery having fun playing the worlds largest accordion.

This year’s accordion group visit to Castelfidardo, Italy, May 16th to 20th, expertly organised by London-based Peter Le Geyt, proved to be hugely enjoyable and educational for the party of 40 British, American and Canadian enthusiasts. Everything was planned to the last detail, enabling the group members to make the most of this annual accordion holiday.

The party flew from London to Bologna, then by coach to our base at the Hotel Parco in Castelfidardo. The tour began with a group visit to the Accordion Museum, followed by dinner in the hotel, which included entertainment by members of the group on some loaned accordions.

The following days involved visits to the Beltuna, Pigini, Scandalli, Bugari and Zero Sette factories to see at first hand all the stages of accordion manufacturing. Apart from seeing all the skills that go into producing accordions, these visits made one appreciate the complexity and also the value of accordions. There were also visits to the Victoria showroom, which included lots of photos taken with the two giant accordions, the Galassi Bellows and Binci reeds factories, and to the new and enlarged Carini spare parts showroom, where many purchases were made.