Italian pride was coursing through West Hempstead at the annual Italian Festival late last week, despite poor weather conditions.
The Cellini Lodge no. 2206, the New Hyde Park area’s chapter of the Sons of Italy organization, and Cellini Charitable Foundation of New Hyde Park hosted their annual Italian Festival from July 31 to Aug. 4. Dozens of neighbors gathered at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church for rides, delicious food, raffles, live entertainment, and more. The goal of this yearly event is to teach the local community about Italian culture and to raise money for different groups.
“This is a five-day feast that we have been doing for many, many years,” Mark Ventimiglia, past president of the lodge, said. “It’s normally in New Hyde Park and it’s to give back to the community.”
Ventimiglia said that this event raises money for scholarships and charities, such as the Katie McBride Foundation. They also raise money for Camp Helen Keller, cancer research, autism awareness groups, and Cooley’s anemia groups which Ventimiglia said affects a lot of Italians.
Joseph Sciame, past president of the national and state Cellini Lodge, said that this event has been happening in New Hyde Park for about 40 years. Due to work being done on Michael J. Tully Park in New Hyde Park, Sciame and other organizers of the event found a new venue in West Hempstead to hold this festival.
“We searched around for a property and the parish gave us a very good deal,” Sciame said. “The Town of Hempstead gave us a great showmobile and it couldn’t be better.”
Sciame said he wants to highlight the “energy and fraternal spirit” of the over 100 volunteers that set up the event a week prior and who took everything down on Monday. He said that the volunteers risked their lives for this event, as heavy downpours and strong winds swept up tents last Friday evening. He also pointed out that two retired electricians, who are part of the lodge, made sure to keep the power up and running.
“It’s a potpourri of enthusiasm and goodwill,” Sciame said.
The lodge honored nine students in June at their Scholarship Night event. In total, $20,000 was given out to the students. Events like the Italian Festival help make it possible to fund the student scholarships. Sciame said the president of the local lodge is a “real workhorse,” as she hosts several events throughout the year.
“I love what I do and I love my order,” Joann Motola-Grossman, president of Cellini Lodge no. 2206, said.
According to Motola-Grossman, there will be a lot more upcoming events. To stay informed about future events, you can visit Facebook.com/Groups/CelliniLodge2206.
