Our News is Written in Stone™
Monday, February 25, 2008
Monday, 25 February 2008
By JIM DINO
Staff Writer
A first-ever Italian festival for people of the Hazleton area will be held May 24 at Hazle Township Community Park. The Unico Club – originally formed for the purpose of uniting all Italian-Americans and to motivate them to become more civic minded – is spearheading the event.
Donald Galade of the Hazleton Unico Club said the club wanted to find a way to remember the Italian heritage of the area.
“We want to preserve the genuine Italian heritage our area has,” Galade said. “So we decided to have an event with authentic food you can’t get just anywhere, and other events that are from the Italian heritage.”
So Galade said a lot of fun events are planned for the first festival.
“We will have a pizza-eating contest, and a grape-stomping event for the kids,” Galade said. “We will also have a fingers tournament and a Bocci ball tournament, as well as a stained glass or glass-blowing demonstration.”
Galade said the club did not know what to call the event, so they decided to turn that task over to the public.
“We are having a contest not only for the name, but for a logo for the event,” Galade said.
There will also be a variety of entertainment.
The headline act will be Frank DiBussolo, a jazz guitarist who holds a doctorate degree in music composition from Combs College of Music in Philadelphia. During his career, which began in 1965, DiBussolo has recorded and performed with Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Diana Ross, Vicki Carr, Bobby Vinton, Dizzy Gillespie, Doc Severinsen, Bob Hope and George Burns.
Other performers will be The Lost Boys musical duo and students from the DeMelfi School of Music.
Aside from the naming and logo contests, there is another contest, Galade said.
“We want to find the oldest living Italian man and woman in the Hazleton area and make them the grand marshals of the festival,” Galade said.
Also, Italian vendors are being sought for the event. Galade also noted there are a number of sponsorship opportunities available.
For information on the vendors or any of the contests associated with the event, contact Galade at 501-1200.
The Unico Club is an Italian American service organization dedicated to engaging in charitable works, supporting education and performing patriotic deeds.
The Hazleton club is one of 13 Unico clubs in Pennsylvania, including Schuylkill Valley, Berwick, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Carbondale and Sayre.
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