Italian Clubs, Events, Lifestyle; Travel Italy

A night of Italian Song will be held at The Hilton Gardens Inn, in Staten Island on Sunday, September 28th, 2008.

The show celebrating Italian song and heritage will feature singer Aaron Caruso, who with the beauty of his operatic voice will be singing “italian songs the way they should be sung”.

Those of you who come from out of town may want to look into spending a weekend in the Big Apple. 
The Hilton has set aside a block of rooms at a discounted rate, in the event you want to stay over. 

When: September 28th, 2008 at 5:30 p.m.
Where: The Hilton Gardens Inn, 1100 South Ave. at Lois Lane in Staten Island
Ticket: $35.00
For more info and reservation, please call 718.256.6794 or 718.501.9519 .

In Italian folklore, the night of August 10 — St. Lawrence’s day, is the night when dreams come true.
In this night, also known as the Night of the Shooting Stars, people use to watch the falling stars hoping their wishes will come true .

Wine lovers have also a chance to enjoy a major wine event this night. It’s “Calici di Stelle” — Goblets of Stars. During “Calici di Stelle” outdoor wine parties are held throughout Italy in spots usually located in wine-making areas.

Villas, castles, vineyards, squares in historic towns and cities, are the locations for Calici di Stelle, where you can enjoy tasting of local wines and specialties as long as art and craft shows, concerts and other cultural events.

A list of locations hosting Calici di Stelle can be found at http://www.cittadelvino.it/node/5801.

In cooperation with the Casino Theatre, the Festa Italiana di Vandergrift is presenting the first annual Italian Film Festival on the Saturday of Festa weekend — Saturday, August 16, in Vandergrift, PA.

Mitch Abraham, Festa Entertainment Chairman: “The Italian Film Festival fits “hand in hand” with the Festa as we celebrate our Italian heritage and, with the film festival itself, the great contributions Italians have made to the arts — especially cinema/film and theatre. We honor the great Italian films, directors, and actors such as Federico Fellini, Giuseppe Tornatore, Vittorio De Sica, Roberto Benigni, Sofia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni and more. We have heard from our out of town guests that they would like to spend more time in Vandergrift and we think that enjoying a movie or two at the Casino Theatre would be a great way to enjoy some of the town’s great nostalgia.”

The films being presented are: 1PM: “The Bicycle Thief” (Ladri di Biciclette) — hailed around the world as one of the best films ever made; 3PM: “Life is Beautiful” (La Vita è Bella) — nominated for 7 Academy Awards, winner of 3, including one for Best Actor Roberto Benigini; and 7PM: “Cinema Paradiso” (Nuovo Cinema Paradiso) — winner of the 1990 Oscar for Best Foreign Film. All are Italian language films with English subtitles.

Per Anthony Ferrante, Casino Theatre Vice-President, “The Casino Theatre it pleased to participate in celebrating the ethnic heritage of a large group of the citizens that helped shape Vandergrift, while at the same time allowing us to showcase the great progress we have made in restoring the Casino Theatre to its former glory.”

Tickets are $5 per movie, or $10 for all 3 movies and are available at the Casino Theatre or by calling the Casino “Tickets” line at 724-567-5049.

Where: Vandergrift, PA
When: Saturday, August 16, 2008 (Italian Film Festival); Sunday, August 17, 2008 (Festa Italiana)
Details at www.FestaItaliana.us - Vandergrift Festa Italiano, Inc. - P.O. Box 115, Vandergrift, PA 15690.

Umbria, with its many medieval hilltop towns, within a reasonable train ride from Rome, offers those who are visiting the Eternal city a chance for taking a break from the city. And if you love music or theatre, early July you have more reasons for heading to Umbria.

(photo by Sonietta46 - CC license)

The historic town of Spoleto, less than one hour and a half train ride from Rome, is hosting the Spoleto Festival, major event for visual arts featuring international stars of theatre, opera, dance, and cinema. The 2008 edition runs from June 27 through Juy 13.

The city of Perugia, with its Umbria Jazz Festival, offers a peaceful holiday in Umbria with a soundtrack of jazz, soul, blues, gospel, pop and salsa, with the historic settings used as venues. The festival, regarded as one of the major international jazz festivals in Europe, also offers a combination of good music and fine food with aperitifs, jazz lunches and dinners, jazz served with wine and gourmet cuisine in some of the restaurants in the town centre.
The 2008 edition runs from July 11 through Juy 20 (see Umbria Jazz programme).

- See interactive map of Umbria.
- Browse accommodation in Umbria.