by Jim Mandelaro
The town of Gates will be loud and proud mid-June, as the first Little Italy Festival runs June 12-13 in Gates Memorial Park, 160 Spencerport Road. There's music, food, a disco party, fireworks and even a lifetime achievement award to Don Alhart, the longtime WHAM-TV news anchor. And a $1,000 prize to the winner of a "Miss Little Italy" contest.
But there's a method to all this madness, says festival president Silvano Orsi. "The goal is to get the neighborhood dedicated as 'Little Italy by our town supervisor (Mark Assini),' " Orsi said. "If we can call it the 'Little Italy' neighborhood, we can spark business investments in that community and make it a destination place."
