Tag Archives: Casa Italia

  Casa Italia’s Person of the Year Gala brought together hundreds of well-wishers from the legal, labor and Italian-American communities to raise crucial funds for the Casa and pay tribute to attorney Louis C. Cairo. Casa Chairman Dan Corrado, Dinner Dance Chairman Giuseppe Zerillo and longtime friend Mario Manfredini set the stage for Cairo, who spoke glowingly of his firm, his family, his heritage and the Casa. A cash raffle and a rousing live auction called by Steve Corbo brought in additional funds.   http://casaitaliachicago.net                          

Casa Italia has launched a fundraising paver project that promises to place it on a secure financial footing for years to come. The pavers will line the walkway between the Italian Cultural Center and Nonna Graziella in a pair of two-foot-wide paths that will eventually be lined with landscaping and benches. With plenty of parking on the either end of the walkway, the project will be readily accessible to the public, and at a maximum distance of only two feet, each paver will be easily located and viewed. The cost is $150 for a 4-inch-by-8-inch paver and $300 for an …

The Italian Cultural Center Vocal Scholarship began quietly in 1976 when Josephine LiPuma, an opera singer, music teacher and volunteer at the Italian Cultural Center, approached the Rev. August Feccia about starting a vocal competition under the name of the center. Ms. LiPuma wanted to start the scholarship as an encouragement to young students of opera. Fr. Feccia was in agreement that this would be a perfect event for the ICC. Two opera scholarships were offered to students of Italian Heritage and each year the scholarship honored a different Italian singer or composer. In 1987, Ms. LiPuma was terminally Ill …

Take a tantalizing culinary tour of Italy’s Lazio Region with Casa language instructor and amateur chef Giovanna Dimetros. Your adventure will include a cooking class, recipes, information about the region, and mini-language class with the spellings and pronunciations of Italian words and phrases related to food. Typical dishes from Sardegna will be prepared and enjoyed by the students with Italian music playing in the background. The session will run from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on March 25 in the Mentesana Weber Room of the Community Center at Casa Italia in Stone Park. Admission is $65 per person. This is a BYOB event. …

The Italian Cultural Center at Casa Italia is proud to honor local legal titan Louis C. Cairo as Man of the Year at its 45th annual dinner dance. The event will take place on April 11 at Alta Villa Banquets in Addison. Louis is a senior partner at the GWC Law Firm: Chicago’s largest personal injury and workers’ compensation firm. Growing up as the son of an Italian immigrant who owned a union construction company in Northern Illinois, Louis acquired considerable experience with and respect for the men and women working in the construction industry. His close family upbringing has …

The Casa Italia Cultural Committee’s presentation of “Christmas Baking Italian Style” was a great success. More than 80 people attended the event. The master of ceremonies was Teresa D’Alessandro Helfand, and the presenters included Mirella Alfano, Maria Cuscino and Antonietta Girardi. Traditional Christmas cookies and food specialties were presented from Abruzzo, Campania, Sicily and Puglia. The attendees were shown how to make buccellati, or “cucciddata,” struffoli, pizzelle, crostata, taralli, pistachio cookies, castagnole, almond cookies filled with liquor, cartellate, calzone rustico and more. All of those in attendance had an opportunity to savor the delicious cookies and food specialties. The attendees …

by Leonard F. Amari Nearly a decade ago, as a result of the vision of Anthony J. Fornelli and his dedicated committee, the Italian American Executive Hall of Fame was established at Casa Italia in Stone Park, the home of our Italian community. At the initial meeting of this committee in 2007, Chairman Fornelli suggested to the other committee members gathered — Don Bono, Jack LaBrasca, Dominic Sergi, Joseph Weber, Phyllis Muchanti and Dominic Verlotta — that it would be appropriate to have a place at Casa Italia to honor individuals from our community who have distinguished themselves in the …

by Joanne Spata Even the record-breaking low temperatures on Oct. 6 and 7 couldn’t cool the spirit of Casa Italia’s sixth annual Fall Festival. People flocked to Stone Park to share in the celebration, as the grapes were crushed and the aroma of a freshly roasted pig on a spit, grilled sausage and freshly baked brick oven pizza wafted across the beautiful grounds, to name just a few of the delightful sights and sounds. And if the scent of Italian delicacies weren’t enough to lure folks to the fest, the sound of Italian musical favorites floating on the crisp autumn …

Casa Italia’s Festival Center was transformed into an elegant banquet hall on June 30 for the wedding reception of Renee Sarno and Joe Gagliardo. Janet Sarno, a wedding planner and the mother of the bride, was the magician behind the transformation, bringing in a crew that labored for three days to install the lighting, decorations, table dressings and dance floor that transformed down-to-earth venue into a wedding wonderland. “I’ve planned many weddings, mostly in downtown venues that were all fabulous. For my daughter’s wedding, I wanted something equally beautiful and elegant but I also wanted to bring back the spirit …

by Joanne Spata Casa Italia jump-started the month of March with a magnificent Italian Cabaret Night. It was an amazing evening of glorious music, excellent company and good food. Entertainment was provided by Main Street Opera, which put on a spectacular show featuring 20 of the best arias and traditional songs to which Italy has ever given birth. Soprano Victoria Hollad, mezzo-soprano Amanda Runge, tenor Benjamin De Los Monteros, bass-baritone Chadley Ballantyne and music director Jason Carson gave rousing performances that earned a standing ovation, with shouts of “Bravo!” echoing through the Chandelier Room. In my favorite number, “Nessun dorma” …