L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 13 L'Italo-Americano Il Punto!, Italian Cultural Center Seattle project like Il Punto!. Like him, all the other board of directors and committee members, volun- teer their time since November 2014, when the organization started to form. Among them, Mr. Franco Tesorieri, Honorary Consul of Italy for Washington State, who is an active member, and Dr. Daniela Giordano (Vice- President & Treasurer) from the Department of Immunology, University of Washington. An important and new aspect of our website is a "welcome section" called Benvenuti a Seattle for the Italians who just moved to Seattle. Here "new arrivals" can find some historical information about the Italians in Seattle during the immigration period and useful tips for the Pacific Northwest. At the moment, Il Punto! is in charge of the almost one thou- sand Italian books that belonged t o B I S , B i b l i o t e c a I t a l i a n a Seattle. Sadly BIS was forced to put the books in boxes since the space used was not available any longer. Recognizing the impor- t a n c e o f t h e s e m a t e r i a l s , I l Punto! stepped in to help. The organization is actively looking for a new home for this incredi- ble treasure of literature that we have in Seattle, and it welcomes ideas and options for a perma- nent library. How can we all –Italy lovers- contribute to support Il Punto! ? First of all we can become members with a very reasonable annual membership fee of $50 per person or $75 per family. Members can receive several benefits such as notification of cultural events, discounts on lan- guage groups, discounts on cer- tain events, and participation at the General Assemblies of the Italian Library (BIS). T h i s y e a r t h e y c a n t a k e advantage of four weeks scho- larship at Campus L'Infinito, the Italian language school for forei- gners, situated in the heart of Recanati, Marche. Other ways to support the group are helping with a dona- tion and volunteer time in one of the many activities already plan- ned for this year, such as: T h e F i r s t A n n u a l D i n n e r C e l e b r a t i o n & F u n d r a i s i n g Event coming up on Saturday, April 25, 2015 from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM, Bothell, WA and only a few tickets are still avai- lable. This will be a great opportu- nity to meet the other members and to enjoy the delicious food g e n e r o u s l y p r e p a r e d b y t h e sponsors. Appetizers from Tutta B e l l a N e a p o l i t a n P i z z e r i a , homemade lasagne verdi, pollo alla contadina from Celestial c a t e r i n g , g e l a t o f r o m D'Ambrosio Gelato and won- derful pastries from Gelatiamo to mention a few. Il Punto! is more than just a website. It is a useful portal with an incredible amount of links to events and activities, and the o r g a n i z a t i o n i s c o n s t a n t l y looking for new ways to impro- ve and to help its members share ideas. Il Punto! is about to create an on-line and in-person com- munity that is going to succeed with the help of all of us. Please visit http://ilpuntoseat- tle.org/ and contact them anyti- m e a t i l p u n t o s e a t t l e @ gmail.com. "Promoting Italian culture through our common passion for food, literature, art, design, film, theater, dance, language and m u s i c " : I l P u n t o ! , t h e n e w Italian cultural center in Seattle has a simple, direct and strong mission. T h e n a m e c h o s e n f o r t h i s o r g a n i z a t i o n s a y s i t a l l : " I l Punto!", Italian for "the Point", wants to be a meeting point, il punto d'incontro, for all the peo- ple passionate about Italy and its culture. It is exciting to have an inno- v a t i v e g r o u p i n S e a t t l e t h a t w a n t s t o a c t a s t h e g l u e f o r Italians and Italian-Americans who desire to explore all the activities and events related with Italy that are happening in the Northwest. With so much going on, this group strives to make Italian culture more accessible. Interesting enough the entire board of Directors is formed by first-generation Italians who come from different cultural and professional background, united b y t h e s a m e e n t h u s i a s m o f endorsing authentic Italian rela- ted events and businesses in Seattle area. W h e n w e s p o k e w i t h D r . Andrea Callegari, President of Il Punto!, he wanted to emphasize something crucial: the organiza- tion doesn't want to substitute any other Italian group present in the Emerald City, but it desi- res to be an umbrella for all of them. In other words all of the other associations can post, share and promote their calendar on Il Punto!. The Italian community in the Seattle area benefits from talen- ted people like Andrea –a young PhD in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine- donating their time and energy to create a MICHELA TARTAGLIA Da sinistra a destra Franco Tesorieri, Valeria vasta, Laura Pattacini (secretary), Paola Croci, Andrea Callegari (president), Daniela Giordano (vice president), Roberta Tauriello Torgerson May 2, Sat.- The Second Annual Feast of San Gennaro Fundraiser, 5pm. in Tukwila, $30 per person. For more info and tickets sale visit http://www.sangennarofestivalseattle.org May 9, Sat.- Wine Tasting Party at American Italian Club Lodge #2172. 6pm to 9pm. For more info and tickets sale visit http://www.seattlesonsofitaly.org May 10, Sun.- Mother's day Cooking class with Cucina Casalinga at the Pike Place Market. $80 per person. For more info and tickets s ale v is it http://www.cucinacasalinga.org/ May 14, Thurs.- Live Jazz Thursday Nights with Frank Clayton Duo at La Spiga restaurant. 7pmto 9:30pm Free. For more info visit http://www.laspiga.com May 20, Wed. - A Tale of Two Cities fundraiser at Tutta Bella in Columbia City, 4918 Rainier Avenue S. 6pm to 8pm. For more info and tickets sale visit http://www.seattle-perugia.org

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