Columbus Day Rally in Arrigo Park
Monday October 12 2020 at 10:00 CDT. Arrigo Park, 801 S Loomis St, Chicago, IL 60607. Join us as we celebrate this Columbus Day, Monday, October 12 at 10:00 a.m. at Arrigo Park in Chicago's Little Italy. Our petition drive and support is growing each day and it's symbolic in that more than half of our signatures thus far are from other ethnicities...
Oakland County board swipes at Columbus Day, recognizes it as different holiday
Will Oct. 12 be Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples' Day in Oakland County? That might depend on who you ask. The Oakland County Board of Commissioners, in an 11-10 vote Wednesday, approved a resolution making Oct. 12 Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which celebrates Native American people and their culture. That’s the day normally reserved for honoring the...
Peoria Park Board decides to remove Columbus statue
Peoria's Christopher Columbus statue will soon be gone. The park district board voted 4-2 Wednesday night to remove the statue from Bradley Park, and replace it with green space. Board members Nancy Snowden and Joseph Cassidy voted no. Cassidy said people living in the Uplands nearby want another statue or work of art to replace Columbus instead of...
WWII German, Italian POWs had it good at Camp Perry
Many of the thousands of people who visit Camp Perry each year for its national matches and marksmanship programs may be surprised to learn that Camp Perry served as a prisoner of war camp during World War II. Even those who know may be stunned to learn that the prisoners didn’t live under the harsh conditions expected of a prison holding Nazis. Pr...
Standing by Columbus
My parents brought me to America when I was 8 years old. Like all other Italian immigrants, they were incredibly proud to become American citizens. They learned English along with the history of this great country as they looked forward to the opportunities that lay ahead. Still, they never forgot where they came from and always made our Italian he...
Italian-American rally set for Old Neighborhood Club
The Old Neighborhood Italian American Club will host a South Side Italian American Proud and Positive Rally at 2 p.m. on Sept. 19. The club is located at 3031 S. Shields Ave., Chicago. Masks and social distancing will be required. Billed by National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame President Ron Onesti as a “celebration of our culture and a sal...
Episode II in our Series on Italian America TV - Pasquale's Garden
It’s our second episode of "The Italian Garden Project”- Nostalgia For Yesterday, Lessons For Today- the newest show on the growing Italian American YouTube channel from the hosts of The Italian American Podcast! Join creator and host Mary Menniti as we get a glimpse into the garden of Pasquale and Luigina Cesario of Norridge, Illinois. They grew u...
After the Little Italy Festival was canceled, a group of middle school kids decided to do something about it
The COVID-19 pandemic has canceled the Little Italy Festival for 2020, but that didn't stop students at one local middle school from finding a way to hold the event virtually. Maria Sellers, a teacher at South Vermillion Middle School says the virtual option will let you learn about the history behind the festival. She says those who visit virtual...
Save Chicago's Little Italy and Demand the return of our Columbus statue in Arrigo Park
Please sign our petition to Save Chicago's Little Italy and bring back our Christopher Columbus statue to Arrigo Park. For every proud American who believes that our future belongs to those who learn from our past, we demand the return of our Christopher Columbus statue to be placed back at Arrigo Park in Chicago's Little Italy. Everything great is...
A Life Remembered: Ada DeBartolo
Ada DeBartolo was a “family matriarch” who modeled hard work and generosity. Her daughter, Tina Serpe, says their mother’s life could be summed up in four words: “Faith,” “Family,” “Friends” and “Food.” “And ‘fun!’ She was a good sport and always joking!” added daughter Sandy Morrone. “She was the matriarch who kept everyone together,” Tina said. A...
Italian American Society’s building heading for auction
On Step. 16, it will be "Ciao and Grazie" for a half-century Ravenna landmark, the building at the corner of South Chestnut Street and Hazen Avenue that has been home for the Italian American Society, which is going up for auction. In an era in which younger Americans are no longer the joiners their parents and grandparents once were, the Italian A...
Mangia! How to get fall festival’s famoso Italian food to go
Another popular Dayton-area festival has announced its transition to a drive-thru event. The Italian Fall Festa, an annual celebration of all things Italian, will now be moving forward with a drive-thru operation taking place on Friday, Sept. 11 and Saturday, Sept. 12 from noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 13 from noon to 6 p.m. in Kettering. The 43...