L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano PAGE  18 THURS DAY,   AUGUS T  29,   2013 San Jose's Italian Family Festa pAul RoMANo KeN BoRellI San Jose's 33rd annual Family Festa is now history but very special memories were created for those who attended. Patrons of Italian Culture President, Paul Romano, was invited to attend the Festa, and to speak at the opening ceremony, along with the Consul General of Italy, the Honorable Mauro Battocchi, the Honorable Dave Cortese of the Clara Board of Santa Supervisors, and various members of the State Assembly, the United States Congress, and city leaders. It is estimated that more than 20,000 visitors attended Saturday's opening events. The memories that were created were actuality two-fold: the very much evident throughout the Festa's two-day run, and took on the feeling of a collective family reunion. Given the current times and realities of today's modern family structure, the Festa itself became a focal point for friends and entire families to meet and reconnect. The Festa has been held for four years at the lovely and lush Guadalupe River and Gardens Park, adjacent to the emerging Little Italy neighborhood and commercial district in downtown San Jose. SJIAHF President Ken Borelli's 98-year-old father attended the event, catching up with people from throughout the Bay Area, and meeting old friends and family members who came to the Festa from as far away as Reno, Sacramento, and The Italian Family Festa was held at San Jose's Little Italy. Photo credit: Nickolas Marinelli. first being the actual Festa experience, with home-made foods, traditional and contemporary Italian music, diverse cultural and culinary exhibits, locally made arts and crafts with true Italian flavor, and the outpouring of the Italian American Community in the Santa Clara Valley. The second of these memories is equally significant, that is the Italian-style family experience, which is an inter-generational activity. That experience was San Francisco. These days, families have few opportunities to connect in a special way. The Festa provided that opportunity, as well as cultural experiences and the time to exchange family lore and stories. Family history lessons were another rich part of the Festa experience, and SJIAHF provided a bigger Cultural Tent, where visitors had the opportunity to explore their roots, and obtain information to take their personal quests to the next level. The The highlight of the day was the Grape Stomp alla I Love Lucy. Photo credit: Nickolas Marinelli. SJIAHF is currently reconstituting their library collection, adding more computer on-line activities, and updating the extensive regional photo collection. Every year the Festa's entertainment has gotten better and better. The center of the Festa's music program was the lively Roma Stage, where opening ceremonies were held on Saturday morning. This year's entertainers included The Fratello Marionettes, followed by a first appearance—direct from Bella Napoli—of Alfredo Imparato, He was followed by Italica, an Italian American pop band, and by international singing sensation, Alfio from Austraila. The opening day's entertainment was capped by a street dance featuring The Don Giovannis. The Festa's culinary stage partnered this year with the International Culinary Center and School from Campbell, California. Their chefs shared some very special culinary gems, such as homemade ravioli and pasta shaping, corn and ricotta gnudi (a type of gnocchi), along with traditional gnocchi, and pasta rolling. Joining the program were several local restaurants, sharing some of their specialties, among them IAHF President Ken Borelli with Maria Gloria of L'Italo-Americano. Photo credit: Nickolas Marinelli George Noble from the New York Trattoria and Al Vallorz from Tony and Alba's. A special highlight was the annual famous grape stomping contest sponsored by Guilemo Winery of Santa Clara County. A special re-creation of the classical I Love Lucy grape stomping scene was enjoyed by all. A Sunday special an key part of our cultural activities." The 2013 Festa included traditional bocce, wonderful vendors, including Carla AlmanzadeQuant and her quest to share the traditional Venitian mask art form with today's world. So impressive are her works that a line had formed at the Gioia Company's booth to secure her The Family Festa Italiana is sponsored by the Italian American Heritage Foundation of San Jose. Photo credit: Nickolas Marinelli. show was performed by the Italian Day Care school , La Piccola Scuola nel parco, i bambini, della scuola Sabatino di San Jose, and Little Italy. Borelli notes that, "…this year's opening ceremonies were very special with dignitaries from throughout the city, county and region attending, including our own Consul General Mauro Battocchi, highlighting the importance of the Year of Italian Culture in the USA. We were also honored to have Paolo Romano from the Patrons of Italian Culture with us from Los Angeles, representing the organizations of the Southland." Representing the emerging Little Italy was Josh De Vincenzi Melander who talked about the progress his dynamic team is making, and Mr. Frank Fiscalini was honored with a historic banner in the park. Special thanks goes to Cathy De Maria, opening ceremony coordinator, who for many years has made this such art works even before the booth was open! Festa Chairperson Joe Rizzi put together a team of approximately 250 volunteers to make this a very special community based effort. Readers are encouraged to visit the San Jose Italian American Heritage Foundation's website (www.iahfsj.org) for more information. Paolo Romano and Ken Borelli at the San Jose's 33rd annual Family Festa

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