Commission Corner
Italian Theater Ticket Giveaway! – The Commission will be giving away 4 pairs of tickets to the May 7th, Saturday night showing of Steve Solomon’s award-winning production “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m In Therapy” at the South Orange Performing Arts Center.
All new email subscribers to the NJ Italian Newsletter will be automatically entered for a chance to win (until Sunday, April 10th). Click Here for Raffle Details and to Subscribe.
Italian cultural skits at Montclair State – The New Jersey Italian Heritage Commission was a proud sponsor of “Italian Language and Culture Day 2016.” The annual event features a language competition, wherein New Jersey middle and high school Italian classes perform entertaining cultural skits – completely in Italian! This year’s theme was “C’era una volta…” or “Once upon a time…” The event featured several familiar fables, but with exciting new twists. Central Middle School showed us that “La storia vera di Cappuccetto Rosso” or “The true story of Little Red Riding Hood” was all a big misunderstanding. The grandmother just went out for a bit and is actually one of the wolf’s closest friends. Click here for pictures and information about the recently announced 2016 Coccia-Inserra Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Teaching of Italian (K-12).
Buona Pasquetta! – Enjoy our April rundown of events:
Brick UNICO Charity Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament
April 1, 2016 @ 7:00 pm
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8867 (Brick)
Sign up today for a Charity Fundraiser supporting the Brick Chapter of UNICO, top prize is a $1,500 gift card.
Brick UNICO Charity Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament
April 1, 2016 @ 7:00 pm
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8867 (Brick)
Sign up today for a Charity Fundraiser supporting the Brick Chapter of UNICO, top prize is a $1,500 gift card.
“Daughters” By John Morgan Evans
Recurring Event Beginning April 2, 2016 @ 8:30 pm
First Avenue Playhouse (Atlantic Highlands)
This beautifully written family drama shows how four generations of italian – american women deal with crisis.
Chivalrous Tales’ Sicilian Heritage
April 3, 2016 @ 5:00 pm
Dorothea’s House (Princeton)
The colorful interpretation of tales of Charlemagne’s knights presented in Sicilian folklore will be the topic of a lecture by Princeton University Professor of Italian Pietro Frassica.
The mafia as a ‘Southern Question’
April 6, 2016 @ 6:00 pm
Seton Hall University (South Orange)
Rossella Merlino (University of Bangor, UK, and Visiting Fellow at Seton Hall) will be giving a talk entitled “The mafia as a ‘Southern Question’: apology, cultural representations, and otherness.”
Film – Benvenuti Al Sud
April 6, 2016 @ 6:30 pm
Ramapo College: ASB-136 (Mahwah)
Come watch “Benvenuti Al Sud” (Welcome to the South, 2010) directed by Luca Miniero; cast includes Claudio Bisio, Angela Finocchiaro, Valentina Lodovini, Alessandro Siani and Giacomo Rizzo.
Sons of Italy 2016 Purple Aster Charity Ball
April 9, 2016 @ 6:00 pm
The Merion (Cinnaminson)
This year’s celebration will honor two outstanding Italian Americans with the Golden Lion Award: Kevin F. Castagnola, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of South Jersey Port Corporation, and Joseph P. LaSala, Esq., Partner at the law firm of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP.
From Ethnic to Multi-Cultural Italian Media in the U.S.
April 12, 2016 @ 6:30 pm
Montclair State University (Montclair)
Join media representatives and scholars Bénédicte Deschamps, Maurita Cardone, Lucia Grillo and Alberto Vourvoulias-Bush for a round table discussion that focuses on the historical and contemporary role of the Italian media in the U.S., in Italian language or otherwise, in reporting about Italian news, culture, economy, etc.
The History of Good Manners in Italy
April 13, 2016 @ 6:00 pm
Seton Hall University (South Orange)
Come enjoy a talk on “The History of Good Manners in Italy.” Gabriella Turnaturi, professor of Sociology at the Università di Bologna, will discuss “le buone maniere.”
Italy during WW II
April 14, 2016 @ 7:00 pm
The Center for Italian & Italian American Culture (CIIAC) (Cedar Grove)
Professor Pugliese will examine Fascist ideology concerning the war, Mussolini’s alliance with Hitler’s Germany and Italy’s war in Ethiopia and participation in the Spanish Civil War as prologue to WW II.
Townscapes in Boccaccio’s Decameron
April 19, 2016 @ 6:00 pm
Seton Hall University (South Orange)
Angela Fabris (Universität Klagenfurt, Austria) will be exploring “Townscapes in Boccaccio’s Decameron.”
Film – La Giovinezza (Youth)
April 20, 2016 @ 6:30 pm
Ramapo College: ASB-136 (Mahwah)
Come watch La Giovinezza, (Youth), 2015 directed by Paolo Sorrentino; stars Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano and Jane Fonda.
Federation’s Annual Dinner Dance
April 23, 2016 @ 6:30 pm
Hanover Manor (East Hanover)
This year’s annual dinner and dance will begin with a Cocktail Hour at 6:30 PM followed by a Full Course Dinner with an Open Bar and a Venetian Table.
La Festa delle Luci, 4th Annual Italian Night
April 29, 2016 @ 6:00 pm
Cedar Gardens Ballroom (Hamilton Township)
Join us for the 4th Annual Italian Night, “La Festa delle Luci,” an evening established for having fun while raising funds for Italian student scholarships.
MSU Opera with MSU Symphony Orchestra
Recurring Event Beginning April 30, 2016 @ 8:00 pm
Montclair State University (Montclair)
Expanding its collaboration with the Coccia Foundation and the MSU Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America, Montclair State University Opera and MSU Symphony present a pair of short Italian operatic masterworks that explore the theme of love and its consequences.
