Community News

Southwest suburban businessman Frank Mungo Jr. has been battling blood cancer in his own heartfelt way for a quarter of a century. His Valentine’s Day Dance benefitting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society celebrated its 25th anniversary on Feb. 10 at the Drake Hotel in Oak Brook. When Mungo launched the event, blood cancer treatments were just beginning to see positive advancement. “Since the first year of the Valentine’s Day Dance, we have witnessed life-saving advances in blood cancer research while survival rates have soared,” Mungo says. “Over the last 25 years, we’ve seen the five-year survival rate for Chronic Myeloid …

Sergio Giangrande sure knows how to run a parade … AND throw a party. Thanks to the enthusiastic leadership of the 2017 chairman, float, sponsorship and TV ad sales were through the roof. When all was said and done, five major sponsors had signed on in support of the festivities, and another dozen benefactors purchased 30-second introductory “vignettes,” making it possible to broadcast the entire parade commercial free on ABC. “And we did so well on float sales that the company we work with ran out!” says Domenico Gambino, who recommended Giangrande for the chairmanship. “I’m close friends with Sergio’s …

On Dec. 1, the D’Addario Foundation partnered with Hungry for Music, Todd Rundgren’s Spirit of Harmony, Instruments in the Cloud, and the Chicago Federation of Musicians to hold an instrument collection event at the Ace Hotel Chicago. Sixty-five instruments were gathered at the event. Among the donors were representatives from local music retailers and music schools, as well as a young boy who donated instruments he collected for a community service project. Afterward, the instruments were loaded onto Hungry for Music’s RV for refurbishing and distribution to students in need. The D’Addario Foundation is a nonprofit that supports quality music …

The Cook County Board marked the 25th anniversary of the Columbian Club Charitable Foundation with a special resolution on Dec. 12. Present were Columbian Club members (from left) Robert DiSilvestro Jr.; Carmen Forte Jr.; Leonard J. Maniscalco and Gabe Caporale; Commissioner Peter Silvestri; and Chairman Toni Preckwinkle. Maniscalco and fellow founding CCCF members Phillip C. Corrado, Anthony B. Corrado, Sen. Renato G. Turano, Sam Sciambatterra, Robert Novelle Sr., Ronald J. Giordano, Robert DiSilvestro Sr. and Fred Mazzei were honored at the club’s installation on Jan. 13.

The Italian Social Club of Chicago started with a conversation over dinner. The concept was simple: find a way to foster all things Italian — including food and wine — with others who have an affinity for the culture. Along the way, members can create new and lasting memories and friendships. The group enjoys monthly dinners at Chicago-area Italian restaurants with special events planned for most Italian holidays, and each evening spotlighting art, music and other aspects of Italian culture. Last September’s event included a visit to the studio of Ginny Sykes, an artist who exhibits regularly in galleries in …

The 2017 Columbus Day Parade was among the best in recent memory. The sun shone brightly and the weather was glorious, attracting a record crowd. And thanks to the enthusiastic leadership of our parade chairman, Sergio Giangrande, we maxed out the capacity of our float company and enjoyed tremendous support from sponsors and television advertisers alike. Festivities officially began on Oct. 6 with the revival of our beloved flag raising ceremony at the Daley Center. On Oct. 9, a total of nine buses left the grounds of Casa Italia over the course of the morning for the Mass and Parade. …

The Grand Lodge of Illinois & Wisconsin, Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, celebrated their 93rd Annual Columbus Banquet on Saturday evening, October 7, 2017. The event was held at Villa Brunetti, Franklin Park, IL. Anna DeLuca, Columbus Banquet Chairwoman, welcomed the guests and introduced the Master of Ceremony for the evening, the Honorable Anthony Calderone, Mayor of Forest Park, Illinois. The MC introduced the Grand Lodge Officers, our honored award recipients, the Consul General of Italy and the Columbus Day Queen as they entered the hall. Highlighting the evening were the presentation of the 2017 Humanitarian Award …

The Cesare Battista Lodge #27 has a long and proud history of serving the Italian-American community of Northwest Indiana. Formed in 1919 as the Loggia Cesare Battisti Musicale, the group soon joined forces with a large Chicago-area fraternal organization that morphed into the Italo American National Union, which eventually merged with the Italian Sons and Daughters of America. After decades of meeting in halls throughout the area, the lodge built a clubhouse in 1956 in East Chicago, and then a new, multi-million-dollar facility in 1989 in Schererville. Dubbed Villa Cesare, the new clubhouse boasts three banquet rooms, a commercial kitchen, …

The editors of “Routledge History of Italian Americans” pored through thousands of images in their search for the best ones to illustrate their new compendium, which encompasses 40 contributors and 660 pages. For the cover, they ultimately settled on “The Migrants,” a painting by John Cadel that hangs in the permanent art exhibit that bears his name at the Italian Cultural Center at Casa Italian in Stone Park. Cadel was a teacher at the Art Institute in the 1970s when the Rev. August Feccia, then the director of the cultural center, commissioned the work. The artist passed away in his …

Scuola Italiana Enrico Fermi recently received a $20,000 grant from the National Italian American Foundation. The grant was presented to school co-founder Laura Granara and Italian Consul General Giuseppe Finocchiaro by National Italian American Foundation Executive Vice President Robert V. Allegrini during a ceremony attended by the school’s students and board members. Located at 1510 N. Claremont Ave. in Chicago, the school offers bilingual education via the world-renowned Reggio Emilia method. It is only the second school in the United States to be accredited by both the American and Italian education systems.