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At a borough council meeting last week, South Plainfield Mayor Matt Anesh recognized October as Italian Heritage Month and, on Monday, the Plainfields' Chapter of UNICO held an intimate outdoor Columbus Day ceremony.  According to the proclamation made on Oct. 5, Italian Heritage Month is a time to 'recognize the enormous contributions that the Ita...

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It's an annual tradition for the Sons of Italy in Hammonton, New Jersey: Celebrating Columbus Day, and honoring local families of Italian descent. "It's a great celebration where we continue to celebrate our Italian heritage and honor Columbus of course," said club president Nick LaGuardia.  Guests were allowed to visit the bust of explorer Christo...

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The Friday flag raising in front of Bayonne City Hall gave local Italian Americans an opportunity to celebrate their heritage. “Bayonne has always celebrated this day over the years,” said Joe Ryan, a Bayonne historian. Bayonne became a destination for Italian Americans in the late 1800s and was already a significant part of the population when the...

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Normally Sherman Avenue up to the boardwalk would be lined with vendor booths and a tent would have housed patrons listening to music and enjoying Italian sausage sandwiches and cannolis, but thanks to the ongoing pandemic, things were different this year. An Italian-American heritage celebration was held in its place.   The Knights of Columbus Col...

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Local officials, members of Italian heritage groups and residents of Nutley and Belleville gathered in view of their towns' Christopher Columbus statues Sunday to celebrate the explorer's legacy. The activities, which included a morning flag-raising in front of Belleville Town Hall and a wreath-laying ceremony and car parade in Nutley, replaced the...

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The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Chapter of UNICO and the Italian American Club hosted its socially distanced Columbus Day celebration on Saturday morning at the Alan M. Augustine Village Green in Park Ave. in downtown Scotch Plains.  This year's focus centered on the Italian Heritage of Scotch Plains, where hundreds of people from the small town of Monta...

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Today, U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) and Mark E. Amodei (R-NV-02), co-chairs of the Congressional Italian-American Delegation, introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to establish October as Italian and Italian-American Heritage Month. The resolution is cosponsored by Italian-American Delegation Members Rep. Rosa DeLauro (...

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Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the city will rename Washington Park to honor Harriet Tubman and commission a statue of the abolitionist to replace the now-removed Christopher Columbus statue. The city removed the Columbus statue at nighttime in June, but one Italian-American group voiced displeasure with the lack of public discussion before it was ta...

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Noting that the history of Christopher Columbus is shrouded in conflicting accounts of his exploration of America and that he has become a symbol for the Italian community, Freeholder Anthony Romano shared his view that the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders will likely seek to keep the statue where it is in Journal Square. Although located...

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The annual Columbus Day parades in Long Branch and Seaside Heights will not be held this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The parade has been a tradition in Long Branch dating back to the 1940s. Long Branch's parade organizer Jospeh Mercadante said it's only the second time he's had to cancel the parade during the 15 years he's been in charge of...

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