Along the bank of the Guadalupe River in San Jose, more than 25,000 Italians, Italian-Americans, and italo- philes gathered this past weekend for the 32nd Annual Italian Family Festa. It seemed historically fitting that the event was held in Guadalupe River Park and Gardens; it was there that Italian immigrants first settled in the later part of the nineteenth century, forming Northern California's first major Italian neighborhood south of San Francisco.

Time, assimilation, neglect—and Highway 87—all contributed to the historic neighborhood's demise, but recent efforts by the Italian American Heritage Foundation of San Jose have begun to re-build parts of the once-thriving Italian neigh- borhood into the new "Little Italy San Jose."

Though other "Italian" festivals have often resorted to allowing anyone who was willing to put up a vendor fee to hawk their wares, the Italian Family Festa has stayed true to its roots, providing a plethora of Italian and Italian-themed vendors. Nancy Federico—known as La regina delle feste italiane—was holding court in her booth filled with Italian-themed items.

When asked how she would compare this festa with the many others in which she participates throughout the year, she merely spread her arms and said, "Just look around...what do you think?"
Among the stand-out booths were Salvatore's Rav-Roller, owned by Salvatore Cutino. His hand-crafted ravioli rolling pins were clearly a favorite. "They're not just for making ravioli," said one customer. "They make really nice gifts and they look great in the kitchen."

Pete Troiani again appeared at the festa in his Wine Cask Creations booth. Re- purposing old wine barrels, Troiani crafts them into function al tables, chairs, wine racks and objects of art.
Mercifully, nowhere to be seen was the usual street festival array of diverse ethnic and assorted American junk foods. Instead, groups like the Sons of Italy, the Tricarico Sociale Club, the Sons of Sicily and other Italian organizations provided such Italian favorites as polenta, sausage and pepper sandwiches, sfingi, ravioli, grilled melanzane sandwiches, fried zucchini and calamari, and tortellini with pesto. There wasn't a corn dog or taco in sight.

Entertainment was clearly a top priority for those responsible for the event, like Judy Verona Joseph, the well-known public relations guru who booked the performers. Headlining on the main stage was Alfio, the Australian-born Italian singer who has performed on four continents since his professional debut at age seventeen.

The Wildest Band got the audience on their feet with their tribute to Italian-American jazz legend Louis Prima, while Bologna- born Claudio Melega delighted his audience with his unique guitar stylings. The two most popular Italian bands in Northern California—The Don Giovannis and Bella Ciao—did not disappoint. Most Italian festivals find themselves fortunate to be able to book just one of them; the Italian Family Festa gave their audience everything they wanted and more with the most entertaining and irresistibly-toe-tapping Italian music this side of the Atlantic.

La stella di tutti le stelle was none other than the Chairman of the Board, Ol' Blue Eyes, the great Frank Sinatra. Well, maybe not the Frank Sinatra, but as an audience member so succinctly put it, "For a guy who's been dead for fourteen years, he sure sounds great." The seemingly-resurrected crooner was not actually Francis Albert himself, but celebrity impersonator John DeMers, who recently appeared at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.

Performing on the same stage where the real Sultan of Swoon wowed audiences of yesteryear, DeMers recently presented his one-man show, Sinatra: A Tribute to the Man & His Music. Those attending the Italian Family Festa in San Jose were indeed lucky so-and-sos to have been entertained by this dead-ringer with an eerily-authentic Sinatra voice.

Women swooned and men jumped to their feet to dance to their favorite Sinatra numbers, while the faces of DeMers' audience seemed to be mesmerized as they re-lived those glorious days when that skinny kid from Hoboken made every Italian feel proud of their heritage.
Not just a Sinatra impersonator—DeMers is magic.

Besides the continuous performances on the three stages, the Italian Family Festa provided more participatory entertainment for those attending. The Grape Stomp gave would-be vintners a hands-on—or more accurately, a feet-on—experience. Those who prefer a different kind of exercise were given the opportunity to bend their elbows at the Wine Garden, while the young and the young-of-heart played bocce in the two make-shift bocce courts.
Two-year-old Nicolino Cozzitorto demonstrated his finely-honed bocce skills, but as his father said, "This isn't even his best sport. He's really good at soccer!"

fonte: L'Italo-Americano