Calabrese Night celebrating life through music, dance and food

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Calabrese Evening on the Porcupine Dante Membership is again.

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The 43^rd-Annual Calabrese Evening “Journey to Calabria” takes place Saturday, Feb. 4

For the primary time because the pandemic, “Introduction,” a six-piece band providing traditional Italian and American widespread music, will get the celebration began.

“Introduction” had been entertaining the Dante Membership crowd on Calabrese Evening for a decade, ever since membership member Joanne Norkum took over the planning of it. It’s the primary time the band’s performed Timmins in three years.

The Every day Press spoke with “Introduction’s” accordion participant, Ralph DeFazio from his hometown of Fonthill outdoors of Welland, Ont. He was born in Lamezia Terme, within the Provincia di Catanzaro, Calabria.

“Our objective is for everybody to have enjoyable that evening, to stroll away and say it was an unforgettable night. We need to rejoice life by way of dance and music, and sharing a meal collectively.

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“We’re overjoyed by watching individuals take pleasure in themselves,” mentioned the retired Italian language trainer and highschool principal. “The neighborhood of Timmins is sort of a huge household and you’ll’t ask for something extra.”

The band began as an Italian marriage ceremony band in 1979 of six buddies from three totally different excessive colleges in Welland. They have been impressed by different Italian marriage ceremony bands of their Italian-Canadian neighborhood.

The bizarre band title was the thought of the band’s unique singer, Frank Arcuri, and his brother, Mario.

“It conjures up the thought of one thing new, starting to unfold earlier than your senses,” defined DeFazio.

“As a result of we’re all Italian, we had the market to do the weddings, so Italian and Prime 40 music grew to become our forte,” mentioned saxophone participant Dave Colonico, including that they quickly had the world’s marriage ceremony market sewn up.

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The present iteration of the band consists of singer Barbara Mantini, John Multari on drums, Joe Castellan on bass, Mario Minervini on guitar, Dave Colonico on saxophone and DeFazio on accordion. They’ve been enjoying collectively for 30 years, Colonico mentioned.

The Calabrese Evening committee has been getting ready for 2 months, and can make the meatballs for the menu’s Italian marriage ceremony soup, beginning every week earlier than the occasion.

Committee members are; Patricia Biasetti, Dana Blaquiere, Louis Clausi, Mark Sr. and Mark Jr. Norkum, and Sam and Jenny Rizzuto.

This yr’s theme is “Journey to Calabria,” with an antipasto desk designed to seem like the entrance of a ship. Fortunate winners of the door prize will get a wine tour of Niagara for 4.

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The menu will function a Calabrese wine ordered particularly for the night.

Calabria makes up the “toe” of the boot-shaped Italian peninsula. The birthplace of famed clothes designer, Versace, the area is thought for its rugged inland mountain vary and white sand seashores bordering the turquoise Tyrrhenian sea.

Typically reported within the media because the seat of the infamous ‘Ndrangheta mafia, Calabria can also be residence to the Riace Bronzes, two historical, life-sized statues depicting the Greek perfect of male magnificence. They have been discovered on the seabed close to the city of Riace in 1972 by a chemist from Rome who was out snorkelling. Thought-about one of many world’s most interesting examples of historical Greek sculpture, they are often admired within the Nationwide Museum of Reggio Calabria, the area’s most populous metropolis.

Lovers of Italian language and cinema can attend the Dante Membership’s “Parliamo Italiano” and “Cinema Italiano” nights on alternating Thursdays at 7 p.m.

The 43^rd-Annual Calabrese Evening “Journey to Calabria,” takes place Saturday, Feb. 4, with cocktails at 5:30 and dinner at 6 p.m. Tickets are $70 for members and $90 for non-members, and can be found by calling the Porcupine Dante Membership at 705-264-3185.