On Sunday, August 17 from 5 pm Mr. and Mrs. Barbera opened their home to their guests to celebrate the Italian feast of Ferragosto, which originates from the Christian tradition honoring the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and at the same time represents the approaching end of the summer season.
The joyful garden party was attended by more than a hundred of dear friends of both the Barbera family and the “L’Italo-Americano” newspaper, which was the beneficiary of the event thanks to all the generous contributions to its future development. For over 100 years the “L’Italo-Americano” has been keeping alive strong ties with the Italian heritage by collecting and spreading information about Italy as well as about local initiatives relating to the Italian community in California.
This year’s festivity was organized in collaboration with the Patrons of Italian Culture, who work under the umbrella of the Federated Italo-Americans of Southern California in promoting Italian culture and history, in particular with the younger generations. In the spirit of this commitment the president of the association, Mr. Paul Romano, awarded the first Albert J. Casola scholarship to Valeria Galeazzi, a UCLA graduate student of Italian origins who will complete her BA in Italian studies next year.
Mr. and Mrs. Barbera celebrating the Italian feast of Ferragosto
Mr. and Mrs. Barbera celebrating the Italian feast of Ferragosto
In their speeches, both Mr. Romano and Valeria underlined the importance of such a prize to encourage and support young people’s interest in preserving and expanding the knowledge of Italian culture and language. The Patrons of Italian Culture and the “L’Italo-Americano” share this common objective, therefore Mr. Romano also praised and thanked Mr. Barbera for his hard work to enhance the newspaper as well as for his warm hospitality.
During the evening, a delicious buffet dinner was served by the house pool, combined with Pinot Noir and other Italian wines, while the sponsors Pasquini coffee, Ventura limoncello and Bulgarini gelato delighted guests with their original and amazing tastes. The representatives Matteo Pasquini, Manuela Zaretti and Leonardo Bulgarini were invited on stage by the host to be acknowledged for their valuable contribution.
In addition, Italian wine, tomato sauce, beans, pasta and other exquisite food products were offered as prizes for the rich and playful raffle presented by Mr. Barbera himself together with Mrs. Margherita Palumbo Underhill.
Later on, the event was cheered up with live entertainment provided first by the talented vocalist Debi Raven, and then by the hilarious show run by “The Meatballs of Comedy” Joey Sorice and chef Eva Miller, comedians Mel Kohl and Brian Sheil whose jokes, sketches and songs really amused the audience.
On the whole, it was a very pleasant afternoon that everybody enjoyed thanks to the nice weather, great food and lovely company.
The staff of the ”L’Italo-Americano” would like to warmly thank Josephine and Robert Barbera for the wonderful reception, as well as all the supporters and contributors to the newspaper who deserve the credit for allowing us to do our job in the best possible way. We look forward to seeing you again next year and celebrate together another happy Ferragosto “Italian-style”.
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