Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Associazione Regionale Siciliana in America staged Sapori di Sicilia at 6 p.m. on Sept. 23 at Altavilla Banquets in Addison. The event featured an extensive array of Sicilian appetizers followed by a sumptuous dinner, music and dancing.
This year, ARSA honored the Sicilian Band of Chicago for its decades-long commitment to celebrating Italy’s musical traditions in America.
A staple at patron feast celebrations across the Chicago area and around the country, the ensemble plays everything from centuries-old folk melodies to stirring symphonic and operatic numbers to more modern Italian and American tunes.
“One of our main objectives is to maintain and strengthen the feast band tradition and to preserve the music, which is so vital to our culture,” says Maestro Christopher Bucaro. “The music we play is integral to the framework of the Italian community. It is part of our heritage and a link to the land in which our roots took shape.”
