NEWS FROM : GREAT LAKES  

Little Italy’s Feast is the celebration heard all around Northeast Ohio. The iconic, weekend-long event is known best for its spectacle of Italian cuisine, turning Mayfield Road into a vendor market of pasta, pizza, cannolis and Italian treats in town. Games, casinos and music keep the entertainment alive, but its reason for the season makes the fe...

Late producer and musician Steve Albini was a longtime resident of Chicago, so the city has decided to name a street in the city in his honor. As Pitchfork notes, thanks to an ordinance passed by Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, the 2600-2700 block of West Belmont Avenue in Avondale, between North Rockwell Avenue and North California Avenue, will offi...

Eatly, a seasonal Springfield (OH) restaurant, will soon move to a larger location in downtown Urbana and open year-round. The restaurant, which has been open at 601 N. Fountain Ave. since 2021, will be “steps off the square” in Urbana. While it will continue serving its traditional Sicilian fare, owner Tom Thompson said he will add homestyle foods...

Indefatigable after 40 years at the helm of Giordano Dance Chicago, Nan Giordano continues to advance the legacy of her father, jazz-dance pioneer Gus Giordano. Nan Giordano says she’s blessed with a high level of energy — energy that enables her to dance, mentor dancers and produce performances, but also to run the business side of an arts organiz...

Marie Sartor Pawelek was born 100 years ago in Eveleth, Minnesota, the only child of Luigi and Eva (Pivetta) Sartor. Her parents emigrated from a small town near Venice, Italy. With all of their relatives back home in Italy, Pawelek’s parents socialized with their Italian neighbors. Luigi joined the Order Sons of Italy in America and Eva was active...

Cook County Circuit Court Justice Regina Scannicchio has been elevated from acting presiding judge to presiding judge of the Domestic Relations Division by Chief Judge Timothy Evans. Scannicchio was named acting presiding judge on Sept. 23, 2022. She was first appointed to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2011 after 23 years as a private...

Italian Fest will return to Iron Mountain (MI) on Aug. 10. Attendees can sample Italian cuisine and wines or join in on the Italian dinner toss and grape stomp. Kids will have inflatable bounce houses and can watch a showing of the Pixar movie Cars 2. First National Bank & Trust Veteran Outreach Committee Chairman Matt Donovan said the bank has par...

Amaseno Lodge No. 3 of Chicago Heights will host its 50th anniversary Feast of San Lorenzo and San Rocco from Aug. 9-11. The lodge was formed in 1913 by immigrants from Amaseno, a small farming village 60 miles south of Rome. Settling in Chicago Heights’ Hungry Hill Italian enclave, they brought with them a deep devotion to San Lorenzo, an early Ch...

When: Sat, Aug 31, 2024 at 3:30 PM - Where: Breidert Green Park, Frankfort, IL, 60423 - What: Enrico's Italian Restaurant is thrilled to announce the return of its highly anticipated Annual Spaghetti-Eating Contest. To qualify for the championship, competitors may first place 1st-4th in one of our qualifying rounds. Competitors will face off in a t...

A young woman on a scooter lobbed a verbal hand grenade at a tour group on a hot summer night in Cleveland’s Little Italy two weeks ago. “This neighborhood is gentrified!” she yelled as she zoomed past 65 people on Random Road who were enjoying a two-hour “Take a Hike" walking tour of local history and culture. It wasn’t clear why the woman used th...

Mille's Italian Sausage LLC, owners of the Mille's Italian Sausage food concession at the Wisconsin State Fair and the Mille's Italian Sausage brand of retail sausage products announced today that the 2024 Wisconsin State Fair will be the Mille family's 93rd and final year of operation and ownership of the Mille's Italian Sausage brand. The Mille f...

Nestled away in the northwest suburbs lies one of Chicagoland’s most peculiar tourist attractions, the Leaning Tower of Niles. Given its rather mundane surroundings, the tower sticks out like a decorative sore thumb. So just how did this ode to Italy come to be in the heart of the Midwest?  A half-sized replica of Italy’s famous Leaning Tower of Pi...