Little Italy San Diego Tree Lighting & Christmas Village December 2nd, 2023

 

Little Italy Tree Lighting & Christmas Village

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PHOTOS WITH SANTA

They are here!  Click here to download your picture with Santa, for FREE, from the 2022 Little Italy Tree Lighting & Christmas Village.

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2023 FROM 4:00PM TO 8:00PM

Ho Ho Ho… Can you hear those jingle bells? This year SANTA IS BACK for our annual Little Italy Tree Lighting and Christmas Village on Saturday, December 3rd from 4:00pm-8:00pm!

Transforming into a winter wonderland with Christmas twinkle lights down all the streets, our beautiful urban neighborhood will be adorned with 10-foot tall nutcrackers and kinetic tree holiday displays on street corners, Christmas songs and more. Family, friends, and neighbors are invited to come together to experience true holiday joy at this family-friendly event and enjoy the neighborhood’s festive décor—including two Christmas trees, Joshua Hubert’s Aurora tree at Piazza Basilone and the permanent 25-foot tree at Piazza della Famiglia, seasonal vendors, live music and entertainment, holiday treats, a traditional Italian tree lighting ceremony, and this year SANTA IS BACK to grant everyone’s Christmas wishes!

You can also enjoy... read more here.

Thanksgiving "Italian American Style"

Thanksgiving is coming up soon this year for us Americans and being a quintessential and distinctive American holiday, I’m sure many of us want to keep it as traditional as possible. That is with the traditional foods: turkey and stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, corn (on or off the cob), and desserts like Pumpkin Pie. But as a free and diverse nation we sometimes mix it up a bit and add bits of our ancestral culture to make our celebration our own and unique. In my own family we would have a zucchini casserole, and along with the Turkey, as a main dish some sort of pasta, usually Manicotti or Stuffed Shells. Lasagna and meatballs was and still remains the main course on Christmas for us. For dessert, along with American favorites like Pumpkin and Apple pie, we’d have cannoli, biscotti, and some sort of Italian cookies.

Before I go on let me explain briefly the story of Thanksgiving, for those who don’t know. Traditionally we were taught that it was a meal shared between the Pilgrims and Native Americans in the new Plymouth colony back in the 1600s to celebrate and thank the Natives for helping the Pilgrims learn to survive in their new environment. The “Pilgrims” were British Puritans looking for a new land to freely practice their religion and eventually landed in what is now Massachusetts. This meal is said to have occurred around the first Harvest time in November. It was made an official holiday by President Abraham Lincoln on October 3rd, 1863 in honor of the ending of the Civil War.

Traditionally, Americans would use it as an opportunity to gather with family to share a large meal, celebrate and give thanks for…well….anything. It’s just a time to remind us to appreciate what we have in life, especially our families.

In addition to food, adding a few Italian dishes to the American table, for entertainment in the background my family, our gatherings usually organized by older members, would have old Italian American favorites singing. Names like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and so on. Yet another distinctive Italian American trait of our very American Thanksgiving and other family gatherings is “The Italian Goodbye.” At the end, when each of our usual 50 or 60 guests go to leave, each one has to say goodbye to each individual personally and inevitably get into a long conversation with each one. Consequently it takes at least an hour for each guest to go from saying the first “Goodbye” to actually getting out the door. To say nothing of getting into their cars and finally driving away!

But I digress…for ideas on how to have a Thanksgiving “Italian American style” click on this Google search link and feel free to comment here on what, if anything, your family does to make Thanksgiving Italian.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Auguri!

Convivio Society of San Diego Announces Endowment Campaign for larger Cultural Center

 

The Convivio Society of San Diego, a nonprofit that celebrates all things Italian and brings art and culture to San Diego's Little Italy, announces its endowment campaign for a new cultural center! 

 For the last two decades, with patronage and guidance from its supporters, the Convivio Society has brought unique, innovative arts and cultural programming:

• It has developed a space in Little Italy that serves as the neighborhood's heritage, event, and visitor center;

• It has established the Italian Archives of San Diego to preserve our cherished artifacts and recount our collective historical narrative, so vital to the development of San Diego;

•  It has published books on the history of Little Italy and San Diego's fishing industry;

• It has brought you concerts, artisan exhibits, presentations and lectures, films, and we have partnered with like-minded groups to further our impact through collaborative programs and projects;

• It has brought Italian consular services to Little Italy to help co-nationals;

• this spring, it will embark on our ambitious documentary series on the Italian heritage and culture of San Diego;

• and it is working to re-establish the much-cherished Sicilian Festival in San Diego 
  

And now the Convivio Society is seeking support to make its vision of a larger cultural center, a home for all of San Diego's Italians, Italians everywhere, and for those that wish they were, a reality! To donate to this worthy cause, and support other worthwhile causes and programming by the Convivio Society, click here: givebutter.com/contribute

Italian Heritage to be Celebrated in San Francisco

 

San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood will be host to an array of Italian American heritage celebrations in the next few months partly thanks to the Italian Heritage Parade of San Francisco. 

On its website, the Italian Heritage Parade of San Franciso says, "We are proud members of the Italian American community in the San Francisco Bay Area, and together we celebrate and honor the values, culture, and traditions we have been fortunate to have inherited from the Italian American community. We recognize those contributions of the Italian American people and the impact on the community and the people around us. We are committed to keeping those traditions alive for future generations and are committed to raising funds to support our philanthropic work.

Our board is a group of over 30 volunteers who commit their time and resources to carry on the traditions of the parade every year."

Friday, August 25th, it will be holding a Fundraiser Dinner & Raffle, information here. Activities culminate with the Italian Heritage Parade held on Sunday, October 8th, 2023. More info here. There will be events in between you can view here.

Little Italy San Jose Street Festival Returns October 1st

 

 Returning Sunday October 1st, 2023!

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Established in 2016, Little Italy Festival draws 20,000 + people to our Italian district. 

Italian Festival in San Jose

• Authentic Italian cuisine from some of the Bay Areas favorite Italian Restaurants 
• Nonstop Live Entertainment
• Ferrari & Lamborghini Area 
• Authentic Italian & handmade Arts & Crafts 
• Wine Tasting from some of the best Cal-Italia wineries in CA 
• Highlighting Little Italy Italian Businesses

More here

NIAF 48th Anniversary Gala

NIAF 48th Anniversary Gala

Join the National Italian American Foundation as we celebrate the best of Italian heritage and culture, our 2023 Region of Honor Emilia-Romagna, and the importance of the Italian Diaspora!

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington D.C.

More here

Festa Italiana is set for October 7th, 2023 in Little Italy of Los Angeles at San Pedro

 

Festa Italiana is set for October 7th, 2023

 Festa Italiana is set to take place again this year in San Pedro, Ca on October 7, 2023. This authentic Italian festival will bring Italian vendors and entertainers to the downtown streets of San Pedro to celebrate Italian Heritage Month in a big way. 

If you are looking to get involved with Festa Italiana with sponsorship, vendors or other opportunities please email info@lilaa.org for more information.

More here

The Italian Californian at the 2021 Festa Gallery

The Los Angeles Italian Festival 2023

 

The Los Angeles Italian Festival

The Los Angeles Italian Festival kicks off Italian Heritage Month in LA each year at Hollywood & Highland, celebrating all things Italian in the City of LA.

Come and be a part of the incredible Italian festival happening in Los Angeles.

Tickets

Tickets for The Los Angeles Italian Festival can be booked here.

Date & Time

Sat Oct 07 2023 at 12:00 pm to 10:00 pm
(GMT-07:00)

Location

The Los Angeles Italian Festival, 1651 N Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, United States

90th Festa Italia to Return to the Custom House Plaza – Monterey State Historic Park in Downtown Monterey on September 8-10, 2023

 90th Festa Italia to Return to the Custom House Plaza – Monterey State Historic Park in Downtown Monterey on September 8-10, 2023

Monterey, CA. July 2023. Don’t miss the award-winning 90th Festa Italia, celebrating Monterey’s Italian heritage and cultural traditions. Join us for this special festival honoring the local fishermen of Monterey, both past and present. This event’s free entertainment line-up, described below, is unrivaled!

This popular family friendly free event shares the sights, sounds, food, and culture that make the Italian experience so special. It is a celebrated festival each year drawing locals and visitors from the Bay Area and beyond. It features three days of authentic Italian cuisine, great music, dancing, fun and friendship. The delicious flavors of Italy are enjoyed by attendees with tasty food offerings (for purchase) including Calamari, Steak and Sausage Sandwiches, Pasta, Arancini, Cannoli and more, as well as wine, beer, sodas, and water. There is also an array of Italian and Festa Italia-themed merchandise as well as vendors selling crafts and clothing. NEW this year will be an array of special 90th Anniversary Festa Italia merchandise.

The first Festa Italia in Monterey was celebrated in 1933 when a statue of Santa Rosalia, the patron saint of Sicilian fishermen, was donated to the San Carlos Cathedral. Sicilian fishermen would pray to their patron saint for a safe journey and bountiful harvest. It is important... more here...

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What: 90th Festa Italia held by the Festa Italia Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization

Festival Entry Cost: Free

Where: 20 Custom House Plaza – Monterey State Historic Park, Downtown Monterey

When: Friday – Sunday, September 8-10, 2023

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Back to The Italian Californian Main Site

Museo Italo Americano presents “The Eurydice Problem”

 

Thursday, September 14, 2023
6:00 PM PST - Via Zoom

“The Eurydice Problem”

Join us for an exclusive online lecture on “The Eurydice Problem” with Professor Alexandra Amati!

Professor Amati will examine the differences in men’s and women’s music since the birth of the opera genre, as well as the ways in which misogyny and antifeminism have influenced the development of operatic plots, casting, and staging over the centuries.

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COST:
Free Museo Members
$10 Museo Non-Members

INFO & RSVP: HERE
or by calling the Museo at 415.673.2200, 
or by email at info@sfmuseo.org

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Part of the BRAVO Cultural Program
In collaboration with Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco

Looking forward to seeing you!!

Photo: Muzio as Tosca in Puccini’s Tosca, 1932. By Lawrence B. Morton. Courtesy of San Francisco Opera Archive