»» 2011 Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival & Italian-American of the Year
The 2011 Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival will officially start on Wednesday, July 20, with the Festival kick-off dinner at The McLure Hotel Ballroom in Wheeling, an event which will honor the 2011 Italian-American of the Year.

The Festival, which attracts around 175,000 people, is touted as the second largest event of its kind in North America and one of the top 10 events in West Virginia.
The 2011 Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival runs from July 22 to July 24. (Here is the schedule)
- 2011 Italian-American of the Year
The board of directors of the Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival has announced that Alphonse Ruggieri of Steubenville, Ohio, is the 2011 Italian-American of the Year.
Mr. Ruggieri is best known as the longtime host of the “Neopolitan Serenade”, a radio program providing music and news in the Italian language in order to keep Italian traditions and heritage alive in the hearts of its listeners. Now in its 71st broadcast year, “Neopolitan Serenade” airs every Sunday morning in the Weirton-Steubenville area on WEIR 1430 AM Radio and online at weirsports.net.
Mr. Ruggieri has served as president of the Italian-American Cultural Club and holds longtime memberships in the Columbus Club, the Weirtonian Lodge and the Jeffersonian Lodge. As a result of his affiliation with the “Neapolitan Serenade” radio program as its host for 38 years, Ruggieri has received myriad local, regional and international awards, including a Gold Medal in 2005 from President Carlo Azelio Ciampi — “Presidente della Repubblica” of Italy in 2005. (source)




