L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano PAGE��� 18 THURS DAY, ��� DECEMBER��� 20, ��� 2012 Abruzzesi and Molisani Club���s Christmas party TONY���GHEzzO LOS���ANGELES. 12/12/12 was truly a special day for the members and friends of the Abruzzesi and Molisani Club that gathered at Villa Scalabrini in Sunland for their Christmas Party. It was truly a joyous occasion. After finding their seats at the beautifully decorated round tables, within a few seconds everybody got in the Christmas spirit. They all seemed happy for the opportunity to hug one another and were particularly delighted to welcome Father Vincentini, the new spiritual director and administrator of the Villa. Father Vincentini arrived a few days ago to replace Fr. Luigi Piran who has been reassigned to the St. Peter���s Italian Church in downtown Los Angeles. Then Dan Olivo, a true professional in the entertaining world, arrived accompanied by his charming parents Maria and Santa and Adriana Vercelli Rocco Olivo. It took Dan only a few minutes to connect his electronic sound equipment. Adopting for the occasion Frank Sinatra���s classic style, Dan sang with his typical melodious baritone voice a variety of Christmas carols. During a break Adelio Di Gregorio replaced Dan Olivo for a short time inviting all attendants to sing along some of the most popular carols. Adelio, a vice president of the club, sings regularly in the choir of the Villa Scalabrini���s chapel during mass. All of a sudden, pre-announced by the typical ���Oh! Oh! Oh! ���and by the neat sound of a ���special bell���, Santa Claus made his appearance in the hall. Alex Cicone, elegantly dressed up in red as the Santa Claus tradition demands and wearing customary long white hair and beard, walked through the tables, swinging a bell that truly had a brilliant, sharp sound. As Alex proudly explained, the bell is a very special ���campana��� that he purchased years ago in Agnone, Molise at the centuries-old Marinelli foundry. The Marinelli family, the original owner of the foundry, was awarded the title of ���Pontificial Foundry��� for supply- ing bells to the Vatican for several centuries. Alex is very boastful about his purchase and rightly so, whenever he has a chance to play Santa Claus he���s happy to use the ���famous bell��� from Agnone. For the event, Guy Masciotra provided a selection of antipasto, as bruschetta, cheese, olives, cold meat, prosciutto, while the full dinner was prepared by Nick D���Egidio at his unique Portofino restaurant in La Habra: it consisted of veal, fish, eggplant, tortellini, penne al ragu, salad, dessert (tiramis��), wine, soda, coffee. The food was truly delicious and although there was not much room for dancing, a few people found enough space for a couple of tangos. This Christmas party was one of the best organized events of the season. Special thanks to president Saverio Ficocelli, Tino Petrilli and Adelio di Gregorio for a job well done. We take this opportunity to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in good health and great harmony. Clarita and Darryl Gustafson A special night for Families of Italian Lineage VENUS���MAzzONI���FRANCESCHI On Saturday, December 8, 2012 F.I.L. held its annual Christmas Gala at the Mission Viejo Country Club. Through the hustle and bustle of the preparation for the Christmas Season, chairlady Carolyn Minnot found time to be quite busy planning the last event of the year for F.I.L. The beautiful M.V.C.C. was enhanced by the chairlady���s detailed preparations. It was most certainly a successful and glorious event with more than 110 members attending. Upon entering the Christmas decorated Ballroom, which enhanced the festive spirit, one could hear the ���quite loud��� chatter of guests mulling around the ���antipasto table��� which consisted of a variety of gourmet cheeses, crackers, candied and fresh fruit which were elegantly L-R: Col. & Mrs. Robert Szymczak, Founder Venus Franceschi, Chairpersons John & Carolyn Minnot presented. The women glowed in their gowns and many men displayed their evening attire. The Annual Christmas Gala this year was truly a SUPER EVENT from the invitations to the excellent dinner from soup to beef tenderloin and Holiday dessert, to the inviting music of Tony Ciaramitaro. It was an evening of unequaled fun. It was a real pleasure to be part of this grand Social Affair. The crowd was lively, buzzing from table to table chatting with old and newly installed members. All the invited guests were impressed by the congeniality and spirit of friendship of this fun-loving group, that they requested applications to become members of this popular club. The Assistant Manager of M.V.C.C. surprised FIL members with a huge new dance floor having seen in previous events that these members are a ���dancing group���. At this FIL club we have developed great friendships and at the same time becoming like a family. We hear from those attending, saying, ���It���s like a whole new family for me, I would be a ���couch potato��� if I did not have FIL.��� Even as important we learn about our extensive Great Italian Heritage and learn about the works of the ���GREATS��� in Italian History. This is done by Founder Venus Franceschi, who sends a paper titled ���Italian Culture��� which is sent to all members when the Notiziario (Newsletter) and invitation is sent to all FIL events. Life is like a journey of mountains and valleys, but there is nothing like true friends. A Board of Directors meeting is going to be held at the home of Venus Franceschi to decide and plan FIL events for 2013. For information, 1-949-363-5348.

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