Summer in Little Italy,
the weekend festival that attracts thousands of New Yorkers
and tourists to New York City’s historic Little Italy
community every Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the
spring and summer months, will celebrate Ferragosto 2010
with Bertolli Olive Oil Family Fun Weekends
and free concerts on Saturdays, August 7 and 14.
The activities, planned and produced by the
Little Italy Merchants Association (LIMA), the
local business organization that represents the interests of
nearly 50 restaurants, cafes and shops in the area, will
include free outdoor concerts by internationally acclaimed
Australian-Italian pop star Alfio on Saturday,
August 7, and popular New York based Italian-American
Broadway and cabaret performer Jenna Esposito on
Saturday, August 14. Both concerts will begin at 4 PM
in the Performance Area on Hester Street between
Mulberry and Mott Streets.
Families visiting Little Italy on those Saturdays (August 7
and 14) will also find a number of child-friendly performers
positioned along the Mulberry Street Pedestrian Mall,
including face painters, balloon artists and even a stilt
walker!
There will also be Bertolli Olive Oil Tastings at
various restaurants in Little Italy between 1 and 3 PM on
Saturdays, August 7 and 14. In addition, a Bertolli
representative will be present near the corner of Hester and
Mulberry Streets to hand out Bertolli –branded balloons and
coloring books to children and families.
Ferragosto
is an Italian holiday celebrated on August 15. Originally,
it was related to a celebration of the middle of the summer
to mark the end of the hard labor in the fields. In time,
Roman Catholicism adopted this date as a Holy Date of
Obligation to commemorate the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary —the real physical elevation of her sinless soul
and incorrupt body into Heaven.
Before the Roman Catholic Church came
into existence, however, this holiday was celebrated in the
Roman Empire to honor the gods—in particular Diana —and the
cycle of fertility and ripening. In fact, the present
Italian name of the holiday derives from its original Latin
name, Feriae Augusti ("Festivals [Holidays] of the
Emperor Augustus"). Almost the entire month of August was
taken as a holiday and leisure time in Italy in honor of
this feast day.
With his old-world charm and his confident swagger,
Sydney-native Alfio offers a refreshingly cool and
modern throwback to the legendary singers to which he is
often compared. Known worldwide as “The Voice of Passion,”
Alfio recently completed his second album, “Classic
Rewinds,“ released by Warner Music Australia, on which he
pays tribute to 15 Italian-American artists who have
influenced him and his passion for music, among them Mario
Lanza, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett,
Frankie Valli and Bon Jovi.
A true aficionado of NYC nightlife, Jenna Esposito
made her New York cabaret debut in August 2004 and has since
performed shows in such venues as The Metropolitan Room, the
Laurie Beechman Theatre, The Duplex and Danny’s Skylight
Room. Her shows – Jenny Esposito Sings Connie Francis,
Takin’ A Chance on Love, A Hint of Rosemary: The Songs of
Rosemary Clooney, SMOOCH and I Hate Men: Songs For
The Scorned –have all received critical acclaim.
Each weekend between Memorial Day and Labor Day,
Mulberry Street, the main thoroughfare in Little Italy, is
closed to vehicular traffic between Canal and Broome
Streets, creating one of the most exciting al fresco
dining areas in all of New York City. During the Mall hours
– Fridays between 6 PM and midnight, Saturdays between noon
and midnight and Sundays between noon and 10 PM – more than
40 restaurants and cafes in the area, with legal permits
obtained from the city, move umbrella-covered tables out
onto the sidewalk creating colorful and inviting sidewalk
cafes.
Summer in Little Italy is
supported by Bertolli Olive Oil, “The Official Olive
Oil of Little Italy,” Pepsi Cola/Schweppes/7-Up, “The
Official Soft Drinks of Little Italy,” and The Italian
Tribune.
The Summer in Little Italy
special events are produced by
Crown Jewel Events (www.crownjewelevents.com).