Italian flags return to Center Street in time for Southington festival
Italian flags again line Center Street in time for the Italian-American Festival this weekend. While the flags hanging from town-owned lampposts were prohibited by a recent ordinance and had to come down, they were instead hung from utility poles with approval from Eversource. In April, the Town Council passed an ordinance prohibiting non-governmen...
RI Italo-American Club holds annual clambake & cookout
Perhaps Johnston resident George Lazzareschi Jr., the popular president of the Italo-American Club of Rhode Island, said it best about the Providence-based group’s annual clambake and cookout. “It’s nice to know countless dignitaries always attend many of our functions,” Lazzareschi offered. “We recognize them as honorary members.” Which explains w...
NIAF: the Italian American Organization of the Year
The National Italian American Foundation is honored to be recognized as the Italian American Organization of the Year by the Madonna Del Soccorso Society. This annual award is presented at the Fisherman’s Feast to an individual or organization that has had a substantial and positive impact on our society and the larger Italian American community th...
Southington Italian Festival will bring back fireworks
Organizers of the upcoming Italian Festival have announced a full lineup of entertainment and the return of the fireworks show. The Italian-American Festival will be held Friday, July 29 from 5 to 10 p.m., Saturday, July 30 from 3 to 10 p.m. and Sunday, July 31 from noon to 5 p.m. on lower Center Street. The festival will include Center Street rest...
Annual Italian festival, St. Ann’s Feast, kicks off in Norwalk
Crowds gathered at Norwalk's St. Ann Club to enjoy live entertainment, pizza fritta and cannoli’s Friday. They kicked off this weekend's St. Ann's Feast, an annual Italian festival the club has celebrated more than 50 years. The event serves as the main fundraiser for the club and its local activism. Festival organizers invite local residents and t...
Italian Festival In Enfield Returning For 97th Year
For the first time since 2019, residents of north-central Connecticut and western Massachusetts will soon be able to enjoy the full family-friendly festivities of the 97th annual Italian Festival, sponsored by the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Society. The feast is slated for August 5-7. Gates are open from 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 5-10 p.m. o...
Gary Vecchio, 68, vocal leader on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, has died
Gary Vecchio, head of the Shrewsbury Street Neighborhood Association and a well-known voice on issues in the city, died Monday after a brief battle with cancer. Vecchio, 68, was a lifelong Worcester resident who became an educator and a visible presence in city politics and matters relating to Shrewsbury Street. Vecchio would walk the neighborhood...
Turning 105, Helen Marrese wishes again for one more year in Rockland
It's become an annual appeal to the great beyond, and so far Helen Marrese has prevailed. "Every time we hit a new birthday, she'll say, "Maybe one more year," Marrese's granddaughter Emilykate St. Jean, 52, said Sunday as Marrese celebrated her 105th birthday. "She woke up today and said, 'Next year I'll be 106.'" Marrese still lives in her own ho...
Watertown Sons & Daughters of Italy Donates to the Food Pantry
This month the Watertown Sons & Daughters of Italy Lodge Piave Fiume #1036, an affiliate Lodge of the National Order Sons of Italy in America, presented a check of $5,000 dollars to the Watertown Food Pantry, along with food items. The donation was made possible by hosting a comedy night fundraiser in June. Late February of 2022 the ceiling of the...
It will be Indigenous Peoples Day only in Portsmouth as Columbus Day is canceled
Acknowledging the history of city land, Portsmouth officials have pivoted to permanently recognize Indigenous Peoples Day and remove Columbus Day from the city calendar. A two-plus-year push from past and present Portsmouth High School students in We Speak, a club focused on social justice, achieved its goal Monday night. The Portsmouth City Counci...
All "Yale" Italians in Connecticut!
In most peoples’ minds, the state of Connecticut has very WASPy (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) associations: Yale University; “lace-curtain” wealthy families; and a Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (courtesy of Mark Twain, who once lived in Hartford). But did you know that, per capita and based on population, it is a state with the highest concentrati...
After successful first year, St. Anthony of Padua Festival returns to Windham on July 15-16
A special Mass in honor of their patron saint, a procession, and an outdoor festival will draw parishioners and community members to Windham on July 15-16 for the second annual St. Anthony of Padua Festival. The festival, which will be held on the grounds of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church on 919 Roosevelt Trail, was initially held last summer to...