City of McAlester hosts 53rd Annual Italian Festival
The City of McAlester hosted the 53rd annual Italian Festival at the Southeast Expo Center last weekend. The event, held since 1971, celebrates the heritage of Italian immigrants who settled in southeastern Oklahoma during its coal-mining era in the 1870s. The Festival featured everything from car shows to carnival rides and contests, as well as t...
Weaving History – Knights In Shining Armor: The Pavia Tapestries, At The Museum Of Fine Arts, Houston
Immersive experiences are nothing new. Commemorating a battle that took place half a millennium ago, the seven panels that comprise the Pavia Tapestries — each of which is 13 feet high; taken together, the tapestries are nearly 200 feet long — have a kind of endlessness about them. Thousands of figures populate the tapestries (I dare you to find an...
Oklahoma's 'Little Italy' Is A Historic City With Rich Cultural Heritage And Delectable Restaurants
Oklahoma probably isn't the first place that comes to mind when you think of Italian food. When people think of top-tier pasta and red sauce joints, heavyweights like New York City (Manhattan's Little Italy, anyone?), Boston, or even San Diego usually steal the spotlight. But little do most folks know, a tiny town in the Sooner State is serving up...
Poggioreale in America Reunion Celebrates Heritage in New Orleans
Hundreds of descendants of Poggioreale, Sicily, gathered in New Orleans for the Poggioreale in America, Inc. (PIA) reunion—an emotional, joyful celebration of ancestry, culture, community and food that drew participants from across the United States and beyond. The reunion took place at two of New Orleans' restaurants—Briquette and Creole Cookery—w...
Italian-American parade rolls in New Orleans
People filled the streets to see decorated floats covered in green, red, and white roll during the 53rd Annual Italian-American parade. The goal of the parade is to celebrate Italian heritage. In the 19th and 20th Centuries, many Italians settled in the French Quarter. "A lot of them were able to buy those properties and still owned today by Itali...
St. Joseph's Day celebrated in New Orleans
Each year on March 19th, Catholics in the New Orleans area celebrate St. Joseph’s Day by constructing altars honoring the relief St. Joseph provided during a famine in Sicily. The tradition began in the late 1800s when the city of New Orleans saw a large influx of Sicilian immigrants. Peter Gilberte, President of the Italian American St. Joseph Soc...
Eye-popping St. Joseph altars are a Sicilian tradition in New Orleans from the 1800s
The Sicilian tradition recalls a drought in the late 1800s that left people starving. They prayed for the intercession of St. Joseph. After the rains came, to show their gratitude to him, they prepared a table with a special assortment of foods they had harvested. The food then was distributed to the less fortunate. That tradition, which comprises...
Charles Marsala to be Italian Grand Marshall of Louisiana Irish-Italian Parade
We the Italians Ambassador, Charles Marsala, has been chosen to be the Italian Grand Marshall of the 2025 Louisiana Irish-Italian Parade. He holds several national positions in various Italian Heritage Organizations. President: American-Italian Federation of the Southeast; Divisional Vice-President: Conference of Presidents of Major Italian America...
Happy Texas Independence Day, also thanks to Prospero Bernardi
Happy (Texas) Independence Day! On March 2 in 1836, Texas became a Republic with its declaration of independence from Mexico. Did you know that there are even a few Italian connections to Texas’ independence? One comes in the form of Prospero Bernardi, who was born in what is now Italy in 1794 and was a notary by trade. He arrived in Texas in 1836...
Traveling passport Officer. TULSA (OK) January 28th, 2025
As part of the initiatives aimed at ensuring an increasingly effective service to the resident community, on January 28th, 2025 the Consulate General of Italy in Houston will organize one day entirely dedicated to receiving the public for the collection of biometric data necessary to complete the procedures for the issuance/renewal of the passport....
Welcome to the Albuquerque Italian Culture and Language Group
The mission of the Albuquerque Italian Culture and Language Group is to preserve, celebrate and advance the culture, language and heritage of Albuquerque’s Italian community by providing a welcoming and supportive environment for Italians and lovers of Italy to network and share, speak the language, and form friendships. Meetings are based on sever...
Camp Hereford: Italian POW camp located near Hereford
After the United States entered World War II, prisoner-of-war camps were established to hold those who were captured fighting Allied forces. Here on the High Plains, we had two POW camps: Camp McLean and Camp Hereford. According to the Texas State Historical Association, the War Department authorized the building of Camp Hereford in June 1942, and...