Gifts from New York State and Erie County on Saturday morning made the first anniversary celebration especially happy for Buffalo’s Centro Culturale Italiano. State Sen. Sean Ryan presented a $100,000 grant to the organization at the event. The money will be used to fund the renovation of the courtyard at the center to make more outdoor programs possible.

Assemblyman Bill Conrad announced a $50,000 commitment to expand programming and increase the quality of events, including language classes, said Lindsey Lauren Visser, deputy director at the center. And Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz provided a $60,000 grant through a cultural capital campaign. The money will allow the center to complete and install its exhibit on Italian immigration, settlement and contributions to Western New York. The exhibit is set to open spring 2023, Visser said.