131. Italian Heritage Month June

June is Italian Heritage Month and with almost half a million people of Italian descent in the GTA, you can expect a lot of lively parties. The official web-site lists many events that are free. On Wednesday, June 1, there’s a concert at the Italian Cultural Institute. On the second, the Festa della Repubblica will be at Queen’s Park at noon with speeches, music and free food. At 2pm, the Piazza Italia will be in Dundas Square.

Italy will be represented at the Carassauga festival in Mississauga and celebrations will be at the Columbus Centre with a free picnic. Carassauga is on June 3, 4 and 5 and we should have a blog about Carassauga soon. The Columbus Centre is only on Saturday and Sunday.

Taste of Little Italy. Image©Ruth Lor Malloy

Taste of Little Italy will be on the weekend of June 17, 18 and 19 with special prices on many dishes from $1 to $5.

And then, there’s the mother of all picnics, the CHIN picnic on July 1.

You can find these and many other events on http://www.italianheritagecanada.ca/events.html. Click on the event and you should get schedules and detailed information. There are exhibitions, films, concerts, and lectures. Interesting should be the video presentation on Italian Canadians as Enemy Aliens: Memories of World War II.

Taste of Little Italy. Image©Ruth Lor Malloy

For the Taste of Little Italy, click on www.tasteoflittleitaly.ca and you’ll find band schedules and street dancing into the wee hours. You’ll also find custard tarts for $1.10, codfish and shrimp paddies for $1.25, and BBQ ribs for $5.

For the schedule on Dundas Square, click on PiazzaItaliaToronto.ca. This is a reproduction of an Italian square with Italian buskers, freestyle soccer, cooking demonstration, and Sicillian jazz.

The Italians are very well organized. You can plan your month now.

2 Comments;

  1. Please subscribe to our Newsletter for updates on this and other multicultural Toronto festivals. Scroll up and look for Newsletter top left. Ruth.

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