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Category: La Gazetta

Wickliffe I&A in Columbus Day Parade

Wickliffe I & A in Columbus Day Parade

Since Columbus was Italian, we commemorate his discovery with a parade through the streets of Little Italy in Cleveland. It is fitting to hold the parade here since Little Italy resident, Joseph Carabelli, as state representative lobbied to proclaim it a national holiday.

Many area Italian clubs participate in the parade.  The Wickliffe Italian and American Club is no exception.  We not only had club members riding and marching in the parade, but this year we had a special participant. Former club president, Gino Latessa, was recognized by the Cleveland Italian Heritage Committee for his tireless work in promoting our Italian Heritage. Gino epitomizes the spirit of Italian Americans who immigrated to the United States and made their mark as hard-working, prideful, family-centric contributors to the American way of life. He is an ever-present supporter of organizations, causes and individuals who promote and preserve the legacy of our heritage.

 

 

Clambake and Fall Celebration

Mario DiNero supervises the clambake.

When the leaves begin to change color, diehard fans dream of Cleveland

Browns’ victories, and the Cleveland Indians are in the playoffs, we know fall has arrived in Northeast Ohio.  Another sure sign of fall is the arrival of Clambake Season. The Cleveland style clambake is different from those held in costal regions where they cook on a beach in fire pits with seaweed. Here we toss everything into one pot and steam it.

This year’s I&A Club Clambake was organized by Mario DiNero, entertainment chairman.  The annual event was held on Saturday, October 7 at the club’s outdoor party center and picnic grounds (which are also available for rental).

About 120 members, spouses and guests enjoyed a traditional Cleveland-style feast including clams, chicken, corn, sweet potatoes and coleslaw. After dinner, many attendees took advantage of our beautifully groomed bocce courts to challenge friends and test their skills.

Internationally Ranked Crooner to Perform at Opening Bocce Tournament Ceremonies

The Wickliffe Italian American Cub is proud to introduce Giovanni Castiglione to the participants of the 34th Annual Pat O’Brien Cleveland Challenge Cup of Bocce as he opens our festivities at 5:30 PM on Friday, August 25th. Giovanni “Gio” Castiglione, 15, of Solon, Ohio will return for the fifth consecutive year to sing the Canadian, Italian and U.S. anthems. Giovanni has been singing the anthems at a variety of sporting and civic events throughout the area since he was 10.

Since first singing for us in 2012, Giovanni has launched a vocal career as a soloist, a member of a professional a cappella quartet, a world-ranked barbershop chorus (Men of Independence) and the Contemporary Youth Orchestra Chorus. He also performed at Carnegie Hall this past May as the youngest member of the Hudson Festival Choir, performing the classical Faure Requiem. He is also a member of the Solon High School Madrigals (an elite a cappella group) and the internationally-ranked show choir, “Music In Motion”.

Giovanni is also a film and theater talent, having appeared in five feature films and 21 live theater performances, to date. You can learn more about him on his website: giovannicastiglione.com.

Above all, Gio, the youngest son of Dennis and Suzi Castiglione, has a proud passion for his Italian heritage. According to his parents, Gio always looks forward to performing for his dear friends at the Wickliffe Italian American Club.

 

by Randy Continenza

Tony Continenza Celebrating 40 Years Serving the Wickliffe Community

Community service and civic involvement are important aspects of the Wickliffe Italian-American Club.  In 1977, club member and Pat O’Brien Cleveland Challenge Cup of Bocce Operations Officer, Tony Continenza joined forces with Mike Rajko to open Lincoln Shell in Wickliffe. Mike was already a veteran having started in the business in 1969 and owning two stations before moving to Wickliffe and joining with Tony (along with his brother Rick Continenza and business partner John Orsulic) to open Lincoln Shell. In 1992 Tony and Mike made the transition from Shell to Sunoco, added a car wash, and then expanded again adding a full convenience store to the operation in order to better serve the needs of their customers.  They have been in Wickliffe serving customers for four decades.

Club Inducts Four New Members

The January club meeting includes the induction of new club members.  Last month, we inducted Dan Basista, Mike Germano, Chuck Willis and Kirk Reinecke into the Wickliffe Italian American Club.  Each new member is assigned to a standing committee and assigned a mentor to assist with his transition into the club. Congratulations and welcome to our new members.  We look forward to getting to know them through our club meetings and many activities.

by Randy Continenza

Annual Holiday Social

The 2016 President’s Holiday Social took place on Saturday, December 17 at the Wickliffe Italian American Club, James Catering.  This annual event is a special gift from club president, Rick Continenza, to members for their hard work all year to make club events a success.  Members and their guests enjoyed cocktail hour with a bountiful and festive hors d’oeuvres table while the band performed music from the great American Song Book. The joy of Christmas seemed to have been infused into the sumptuous bone-in veal chop with all the trimmings.  Dinner was heavenly as glasses clinked, laughter rang out and candles flickered with delight. Before the band resumed playing holiday and dance music, our president highlighted the accomplishments of the year, and thanked all of the members and our special guests.  In a new tradition started last year, the major sponsors for the Cleveland Challenge Cup of Bocce are invited to attend the Holiday Social as guests of the club.  This year’s guests included representatives from Pat O’Brien Chevrolet, Key Bank, Insurance Partners, Enterprise Car Rental, and Sweet Berry Market.

As a special surprise, guests enjoyed a sneak preview of the rough cut of “Breaking Balls,” a documentary centered around the 30th Anniversary Cleveland Challenge Cup of Bocce tournament (see accompanying article).

by Randy Continenza