OLG's Italian Feast and Festival brings four days of fun, food
If you wanted doughboys, a meatball sandwich or apple crisp, the annual four-day Our Lady of Grace Italian Feast and Festival was the place to be last weekend. Festival Field in Johnston played host to a smorgasbord of food offerings, carnival rides and games during an event with roots that go back roughly a century. “As often was the case where It...
The Italian Cultural Center of Western Massachusetts presents its first fall lecture of 2019
The presentation will begin at 2:00 pm on Sunday, September 15 at the Italian Cultural Center located at 56 Margaret Street, Springfield. There is an admission charge of $5 for Members and $7 for Non-Members. Complimentary refreshments will be served. The Italian Cultural Center of Western Massachusetts is pleased to announce their first 2019 fall...
Columbus Day honor passes without explorer's name
An order targeting flagpoles at Riley Plaza in downtown Salem has brought the debate surrounding Columbus Day to the City Council chambers, and it passed without the explorer's name attached to it. Ward 4 City Councilor Tim Flynn introduced an order Thursday night to "raise the Italian flag at Riley Plaza on Oct. 14, 2019, in honor of Columbus Day....
Milford Columbus Committee announces Italian American of the Year
Mark Tutino, a lifelong Milford resident, has been named the Milford Columbus Committee’s Italian American of the Year. Tutino is the owner and principal of Tutino Financial, LLC. A certified financial planner, Tutino has been in the securities business for 31 years. He has been a member of the Milford Kiwanis since 1996, and has held the positions...
BLO's PAGLIACCI Rolls Into Boston's North End To Open 2019/20 Season
Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) opens the 2019/20 Season with its first production of Ruggero Leoncavallo's indelible and enduringly popular 1892 Italian opera, PAGLIACCI, running September 27 to October 6, 2019 and starring tenor Rafael Rojas (in BLO's Werther and La Traviata, 1998, and Madama Butterfly, 2000) as Canio, and soprano Lauren Michelle making...
Five generations flock to western Massachusetts to celebrate 50th family reunion
Much has changed in the world since 1945 when Julia Valenti organized the first family reunion for her, her eight siblings, and their families. One thing that hasn’t changed in the years since is the tradition of gathering to celebrate family. After a brief hiatus from 1966 to 1968, the Valenti Open, as the reunion is known, has been held every yea...
‘Il Circolo di Conversazione Italiana’
West Boylston – Are you someone who, once upon a time, studied another language in school? Have you, now and again, considered dusting off those language skills and refreshing your knowledge? Or do you love to travel, and want to learn a new language to enhance your travel experience? But, once you have learned it, how, you wonder, will you maintai...
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Benedetto, 70 years
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Benedetto, 227 Elm St., will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary with a renewal of vows during the 11 a.m. Mass on Sept. 15 at St. Anthony’s Church, Watertown. Mr. Benedetto, son of Dominick and Jennie Benedetto, and Katherine Scordo, daughter of James and Marianna Scordo, were married on Sept. 17, 1949, at St. Anthony’s...
Feast of the Three Saints ends with a bang, and lots of confetti
The 96th annual Feast of the Three Saints culminated on Sunday when statues of the holy martyrs were carried out of Corpus Christi Parish at Holy Rosary Church and were stationed on a large, mobile cart. While the cart — called the vada — paused in front of the church, a marching band played and confetti guns showered the crowd in strips of colored...
Pannese from Cape Cod to Italy celebrate Feast Day of the Blessed Mother
There were several mighty milestones celebrated Sunday inside Our Lady of Grace Church in Johnston. First and foremost, the Pannese Society – which dates back to 1909 and was founded on Providence’s Federal Hill by an Italian immigrant named Giuseppe Anzevino – held its annual Mass and Breakfast Buffet in honor of La Madonna del Bosco, the patrones...
Daughter of founder of Pepe’s Pizza dies in New Haven
The daughter of the founders of Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana has died. Serafina Lucy Pepe DeMusis, of Hamden died on August 25 at the Yale New Haven Hospital St. Raphael Campus with her family by her side, according to her obituary. She was 93. She was the wife of the late Dominic DeMusis. “Sera” DeMusis, who was born in New Haven on August 12, 1...
Vincent Graziano, A Generous Spirit
It goes without saying that 100 years of service is an impressive feat for any business or organization, no matter how big or small. 100 years of service implies a century full of honesty, communal respect, and dignified professionalism; and in the funeral home profession, these qualities are the pillars on which it stands. Coxe and Graziano Funera...