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Some benefactors are drawn to the limelight that their generosity attracts and others prefer to work their charitable magic behind the scenes. Domenico Gambino is cut of the latter cloth. A co-owner of the Tony’s Finer Food grocery empire, Gambino has been a quiet force for good in the Italian-American community for decades, deploying resources and...

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Financial planner Jack Cannata stepped up to the presidency of the Columbian Club of Chicago at its annual installation gala. Joining him as 2018 officers are First Vice President Stuart Caravello, Second Vice President Mark Corrado, Third Vice President Michael Russotto, Secretary John Curry, Treasurer Vic Guerrieri and Sergeant-at-Arms Carmen For...

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The Italian American Executives of Transportation held their 2017 Dinner Dance at Alta Villa Banquets on Nov. 19. More than 600 were in attendance, making it one of the largest dinner dances of the year. Dominic Romanazzi was honored as Man of the Year, and Wayne Bubak was honored as Humanitarian. Past IAET honoree Lou Cairo did a tremendous job as...

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Four decades after realizing his dream of starting a hall of fame to honor sports heroes, George Randazzo, President and Founder of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, celebrated the organization’s 40th Annual Induction & Awards Gala along with Board Chairman Tony Ferraro, NIASHF directors and loyal supporters this past November in C...

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Onesti Entertainment opened three new food and music venues in one place at the former 27 Live building in Evanston in January. After almost two years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in renovations, Rock ’N Ravioli Italian restaurant, Bourbon ’N Brass speakeasy bar and the Evanston Rocks music hall are now in full swing. Rock ’N Ravioli serves...

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Società SS. Crocifisso & San Giovanni Bosco di Ciminna (Chicago) will honor Antonino Napoli as Man of the Year at its dinner dance on March 3 at Alta Villa Banquets in Addison. A longtime luminary of the Chicago-area Italian-American community, Napoli has been a driving force among local Ciminnesi for decades. “Tony has been a pillar of our communi...

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Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra marked their 350th concert together, with a performance in Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center Wednesday night at the onset of their East Coast winter tour. With dignitaries in the audience including the Italian ambassador to the U.S. Armando Varricchio, it was a celebratory affair capped by the single...

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Naperville City Council members rejected a request to add a three-day Italian festival at Naper Settlement to the 2018 events schedule amid questions about the city-funded museum's purpose and the event application process. The council was asked Tuesday to reopen the special events calendar, which was finalized in November, to accommodate Festa Ita...

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Two works new to Chicago, a popular tenor in a long-awaited Mozart role, and Italian favorites are on tap in Lyric Opera’s 2018-19 season. The company’s 64th season, announced Tuesday morning at the Lyric Opera House, continues the trend of the Anthony Freud era, balancing a trio of rarities with box office-bait repertory. With some exceptions, the...

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Robertino Presta, president and CEO of Chicago-area grocer Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets, is looking for a wide array of products from Italy as demand for authenticity, organic and natural has gone beyond the specialty food segment to become mainstream. We are looking at a wide array of innovative products. Italian producers are always coming up wi...

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