Community News

If you’re stuck at home, why not have some good old-fashioned Italian fun and share it with Fra Noi? Send us photos or videos of you and your family celebrating your heritage while you’re sheltering in place. Making pasta by hand with the kids? Take a picture! Playing a game of tombola or scopa with your spouse? Make a video! Watching your grandkid create the next “Mona Lisa” at the dining room table? Don’t just stand there, capture the moment! Email your files to info@franoi.com by April 30. The best photos and videos will be posted on our Facebook page …

  ATTENZIONE! All events are subject to cancellation or postponement due to the coronavirus outbreak. Please call first to check on the status of the event. Each year, more than three-dozen Italian patron saint celebrations grace the Chicago area. Kept alive by paesani from villages and cities across Italy, these events preserve some of the most cherished of our traditions. Festivities range from simple religious services to solemn masses and processions to family festivals that last several days. But they all have one thing in common: devotion to the spiritual protectors of la bell’Italia. At press time, information was available …

On Nov. 10, Chicago-area activists Carlo Vaniglia, Frank Di Piero and Dominic Candeloro travelled west to Cherry, Illinois, to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Cherry mine disaster. They laid a wreath at the monument that honors the 259 victims of the mine fire, 73 of whom were Italian immigrants, mainly from Emilia Romagna. It was the third worst disaster in American mining history. Welcomed with open arms by the descendants of the miners, the trio promised that they would share their story with the Chicago-area Italian-American community.  

The following was provided by the sponsoring organization. The Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, Grand Lodge of Illinois/Wisconsin, celebrated its 95th Annual Columbus Banquet on Oct. 12. Anna DeLuca, Columbus Banquet Chair, welcomed the guests and introduced the Master of Ceremony for the evening, the Hon. Anthony Caldarone. The MC introduced the Grand Lodge officers, our honored award recipients, the Consul General of Italy, and the Columbus Day Queen as they entered the hall. The MC introduced Paul R. Loparco, Grand Lodge of IL/WI president, who greeted the guests and stressed the importance of celebrating and recognizing …

Domenica Insieme has gone international! Listeners from no fewer than 35 countries now tune into the local bilingual radio program hosted by Pat Capriati and John Conenna. The top five countries are the United States, Australia, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom. After that comes Belgium, Jordan, Greece, Chile, Russia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Venezuela, India, Macedonia, France, Israel, Luxembourg, Spain, Ukraine, South Korea, Brazil, Taiwan, Poland, Ireland, Finland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Japan, Sweden and Argentina. The show airs from 9 to 10 a.m. each Sunday on WSBC 1240 AM, and streams live from …

Colonel Renato Bacci, U.S. Army (Retired), was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service in a ceremony at the Pentagon Office Complex in Washington D.C. on Nov. 15. He was recognized for his service as state chair of the Illinois Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve from October 2013 to September 2019. The award was presented by ESGR Chairman Ronald E. Bogle (on left in photo). The award citation states that his exceptional leadership, dedication and commitment to the mission of the Illinois Committee significantly enhanced and sustained employer support for …

The Italian American Labor Council honored Michael Somone as its 2019 Man of the Year, and the Amalgamated Bank of Chicago VP couldn’t have been prouder. “It was so great to be surrounded by all of my friends in the labor movement and to accept the award with my parents, Tom and Antoinette, in the audience,” Somone says. “And the framed copy of the pages that appeared in Fra Noi were a wonderful touch. It made the night even more special. I was so very humbled by the entire evening.”

Elmcrest Banquets was packed to capacity for this year’s Italian American Police Association’s dinner dance. Sharing the spotlight were Chicago Alderman Nick Sposato, Illinois State Police District Commander Jason LoCoco, Circuit Court Judge William Raines and retired Chicago Police Officer Carl Liture, but the Police Officers of the Year stole the show. The honor went to Lake County Sheriff’s Police Deputy John Forlenza and his K-9 partner, Dax, who received an engraved food bowl along with a standing ovation.

The Illinois/Wisconsin Grand Lodge of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America welcomed a new lodge to the family. Lodge Amicizia #2999 of Kenosha, Wisconsin, was chartered on Nov. 2 at Casa Capri in Kenosha. On hand for the ceremony were Lodge President Joseph Cardinali, National 4th Vice President Richard R. Della Croce, Grand Lodge President Paul R. Loparco and Immediate Past Grand Lodge President Marie Marsalli. The lodge has 32 charter members.

The Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art reopened to the public in November at 1220 Kensington Road in Oak Brook. The new facility includes improved exhibits and more space for educational programs, private rentals and a dedicated research library. All galleries are housed on the first floor and include multi-media installations. Opened in Elmhurst in 1962, the Lizzadro Museum houses one of the largest collections of hand-carved stone, minerals and gemstones in the world, thanks to the diligence of its founder, Joseph Lizzadro. For details, click here.