Tag Archives: Festival Italiano

Breaking News — No Italian Fest In 2011

Posted on April 7, 2011 | 12 comments

The home page of Festival Italiano provides this distressing news:

It is with deep sadness that I must announce to you that there will be no Westport Festival Italiano in 2011.  We did have a very successful Festival in 2010.  Unfortunately, virtually all the income was paid out in expenses.

Our reason for existence is to provide scholarships and support for local charities and there is little left for that.  Although it would be fine if we could keep the Festival going just for the entertainment it provides for Westport and the surrounding communities that is just no longer possible.

Volunteering is virtually non-existent and sponsorships are dwindling so more and more of the set up has to be contracted and paid for.  No one from Westport Festival Italiano, Inc. receives any payments from the Festival, so there is no way we can cut back expenses without destroying the character of the Festival, and that we will not do.

Several avenues have been investigated to keep the Festival going within those guidelines, but they have not succeeded.  With the economy sluggish and the constant threat of a rain washout we have no choice but to terminate Festival Italiano

Festival Italiano has had 27 good years. The weather has mostly cooperated.  Our Patrons have been great, as have the vendors and entertainment.  We have provided over two and a half million dollars to charitable causes and many, many hours of enjoyment to the people of the Westport area.  We are proud of our accomplishments.

Best Wishes from all of us at Westport Festival Italiano, Inc.

Arrividerci, Festival Italiano.  Grazie mille.

(Posted 8:50 a.m.)

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Posted in Organizations, Saugatuck

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Italians Take Over Saugatuck

Posted on July 8, 2010 | 7 comments

The Italian Festival opens tonight.

The annual celebration of Saugatuck’s heritage, 1950s music and fried dough kicks off with a 7:30 p.m. parade.  All weekend long there are rides, carnival games, performances, and a Coney Island-meets-Westport atmosphere unavailable any other time, at any other place.

Festival Italiano is sponsored by the Sons of Italy.  The non-profit organization — so unassuming it doesn’t even have a website — donates all profits to local charities.  That’s no patate piccole — since the first fest in 1984 they’ve given away nearly $2 million, to over 40 charities.

But the organization uses a public facility — part of the railroad parking lot — to hold its philanthropic show.

So, to avoid a dust-up similar to the one that emerged on “06880” regarding the PAL 4th of July fireworks, I won’t mention any of that.

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Posted in Entertainment, Organizations, Saugatuck

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Honoring The Nistico Name

Posted on July 6, 2010 | 3 comments

Later this week, Saugatuck hosts the Italian Festival.  The location — across the street from the Nistico family’s old Arrow restaurant — is as Saugatuck (and Italian) as it gets.

But Lou Nistico was a man for all of Westport — not just Saugatuck — so it’s appropriate that this week he’s also being celebrated on North Avenue.

Thirty years ago, the athletic complex at his beloved Staples High School was named for Lou.  But the letters honoring the restaurateur/philanthropist/paisano fell into disrepair, and for a while now the signage almost disrespected the man.

Now — thanks to a fundraising effort spearheaded by John Lupton and the Class of 1966 — bold new lettering graces the newly painted north and south entrances.  Fittingly, the color is Staples blue.

Earlier last month, the same fundraising drive paid for lights to illuminate the stone “Staples High School” sign at the main entrance on North Avenue.  That sign is actually the lintel from the original building on Riverside Avenue — just down the street from the Arrow, and the Nistico home.

Lou would be very, very proud.

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Posted in Looking back, People, Restaurants, Saugatuck, Staples HS

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Italian Fest To Honor Lou Santella

Posted on April 6, 2010 | Comments Off on Italian Fest To Honor Lou Santella

This year’s Italian Festival will honor Lou Santella.

The founding member, longtime director and unofficial “Mayor of Saugatuck,” who died earlier this year, will be remembered at the annual event, set for July 8-11.

Tim Romano is grand marshal for the Thursday evening parade.

The Italian Festival tradition — rides, food, music from the like of the Duprees and Emil Stucchio — will continue, though for the 1st time since its founding 27 years ago Lou Santella’s warm, welcoming spirit will be only a memory.

The Italian Fest is an integral part of Westport life.  It took a lot of hard work by Lou, and others, to resurrect what long ago was known as the Feast of St. Anthony.

Today, it may be harder than ever to keep the Festival going.

Director Roberta DellaDonna Troy and grand marshal Buck Iannacone enjoy last year's Italian Festival parade.

Director Roberta DellaDonna Troy — who succeeded, and was mentored well by, Lou Santella — starts planning in early October.  She arranges for permits, tents, music and much more.

When set-up begins in early July, there are still only a handful of volunteers.

Many Westporters think the Italian Festival is a town-sponsored event.  It’s not.

Festival Italiano Inc. is a 501(c)3 operation.  It relies on the generosity of sponsors and volunteers.  Both are desperately needed.

Expenses are high.  Last year, the Italian Festival spent $31,800 for police, $28,000 for electrical services, and $6,000 for the Fire Department.

Besides providing 4 days of old-fashioned fun and entertainment, the Festival gives back plenty.  All money raised goes to charities ($10,000 in 2009) and scholarships (22 last year, each for $1,000). 

Most Westporters don’t know that.  They enjoy fried dough, Whack-a-Mole and doo-wop groups, without even thinking of the enormous amount of work that goes into each summer’s Italian Festival.

For 27 years — through heat waves, thunderstorms, and rumors of its own demise — Festival Italiano has been a boon to Westport.

Lou Santella’s legacy lives on.

(For more information — including volunteer operations — email robertatroy@aol.com)

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Posted in Entertainment, Organizations, People, Saugatuck

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The Worst That Could Happen

Posted on March 26, 2010 | 3 comments

It’s been a tough month for the Italian Festival.

First Lou Santella — former president of the Sons of Italy, and a stalwart volunteer for decades — died.

Now Johnny Maestro — lead singer of the Crests, the Del-Satins and the Brooklyn Bridge, and a favorite performer at the Festival for years — has also passed away.

This summer’s Italian Fest should honor both men well.

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Posted in People, Westport life

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