Honoring New Haven's Italian immigrants: Artists propose replacements for Columbus statue
The goal is remembrance and celebration and six artists are finding ways to honor the perseverance and resilience of immigrants, mainly through landscape and bronze, whether representational or abstract. Specifically, the focus is on the journey of Italians to Wooster Square in the mid-19th century, their struggles, successes and the legacy they le...
Southington Italian-American Festival brings thousands
Over the weekend, neighbors and friends from near and far took part in the return of the Southington Italian-American Festival on Center Street, experiencing the tastes of the European Mediterranean in the form of food and fellowship. At the Southington UNICO tent, Patty Boissonneault was frying up “pateas,” she said, otherwise known as squash frit...
Get Your Fried Dough Fix This Weekend at Southington’s Italian Festival
If you've read some of the articles that I've written over the years, you know my love for food, fairs, and local festivals. One of my favorite local events here in Connecticut is Waterbury's Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Feast. It was last weekend and I missed it this year. Just as we were about to head over to Highland Avenue this past Saturday, thunder...
New to RI: Unanimous verdict — Judge Caprio's fans cheer his Emmy nod
If Providence were a person, it would be Judge Frank Caprio. The municipal court fixture and star of the long-running “Caught in Providence” — a televised series of real-life court proceedings from parking tickets to speeding violations — is beloved. Take it from the 600 or 700 people who showed up for a party to celebrate his Daytime Emmy nomina...
Feast of Saint Lucy Celebrates Centennial with Special Celebration on Sunday, August 22
In celebration of their centennial year, the organizers of the Feasts of Saint Anthony and Saint Lucy are planning a special day of commemoration on Sunday August 22, in the North End of Boston. The day will begin at 12:00 Noon at Saint Leonard Church with a Special Centennial Mass celebrated by His Eminence Sean Cardinal O’Malley. The Mass will co...
North End Feasts Return
Long-awaited and much-anticipated even in so-called “normal” times, the feasts and processions of the very Italian North End of Boston are summer staples that are not to be missed. Several of these religious-based processions dedicated to individual saints have already taken place, yet the ones with the aromatic, beloved street festivals surroundin...
Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel kicks off Friday
A 93-year-old, deeply-revered, local religious tradition will have a bit of a different feel in 2021. This year will mark the first Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel celebration in more than six decades without the involvement of the late Antonio "Junie" Trebisacci Jr., a longtime member of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Feast Committee, who died in...
A walking tour of Boston’s North End: What to see, do and eat in Little Italy
I headed to the North End (pronounced “Nah-th End”) in search of the apartment building where my paternal grandmother — whom I never met — was born in 1902. Even though I was on the hunt for my own family history, it’s impossible to avoid learning about the Italian American immigrant experience when in this Boston neighborhood. My grandmother died...
Hartford residents support replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, city task force finds
A year after Hartford removed its statue of Christopher Columbus from the shadow of the state Capitol, a task force is preparing to recommend the city join countless others around the state and country in replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Renaming the Oct. 11 holiday is just one of several potential changes the city task force wi...
Summer BBQ for Wakefield Sons and Daughters of Italy
Although it was hot and storms were predicted, the Lodge went ahead with a wonderful barbecue for the June meeting. Laurie Rizzo of Laurie's 909 cooked up hotdogs, hamburgers and sausages. Members rounded out the meal by providing wonderful salads and desserts. There was discussion about which charities the lodge would support in 2021. It was decid...
Frank Ingrasciotta to Present BLOOD TYPE: RAGU at Legacy Theatre
Writer/Performer Frank Ingrasciotta treads the boards once gain performing his one-man play Blood Type: RAGU at the historic and newly-renovated Legacy Theatre in Stoney Creek, CT. This vintage theatre once housed Orson Welles renowned Mercury Theatre Company. Blood Type: RAGU will perform as a special event on Friday, July 9th and Saturday, July 1...
Officials, New Haven group mark one year since Columbus statue was removed
One year ago, the Elm City took down its statue of Christopher Columbus, and the debate over what happened that day and what will replace it is still as divisive as ever. Hundreds filled this green to watch the statue come down a year ago today. Today, a much small group gathered, determined to get the statue back, but the mayor says the city is mo...