Buffalo’s Italian American community is celebrating a big weekend in the Queen City. The Federation of Italian American Societies hosted its annual banquet Sunday night for the first time since the pandemic began. It’s a celebration of Italian culture and the opportunity to recognize the significant contributions of Italian Americans.

News 4’s Jacquie Walker has emceed this dinner for several years. Dr. Francesco Giacobbe was named man of the year. It was his idea to create the Italian American Cultural Center in North Buffalo which just opened Saturday. The Italian Cultural Center is the first of its kind in Buffalo. It will host language lessons, cooking classes, lectures, films and more.