NATIONAL CONGRESS OF ITALIAN-CANADIANS
NATIONAL CAPITAL DISTRICT
Our Motto
"Preserving Our Past . . . Enriching Our Future"
NCIC NEWS
SPECIAL EDITION
Summer - 2020
Connecting
our
Community
The President's letter:
ITALIAN CANADIAN HISTORICAL CENTRE (ICHC)
Dear Friends/Cari Amici,
I hope that this message finds you well and enjoying a beautiful summer. Haven’t we been blessed with wonderful weather? It is my hope that you and yours are all doing well and staying safe during this very challenging period. Needless to say, it has been a very different time for all of us. We miss seeing each other, our friends and members, at the many cultural activities held both at the Italian Canadian Historical Centre and out and about in the community with the many functions, gatherings, picnics and the like. The annual Festa at Madonna della Risurrezione Church in May was cancelled. St. Anthony’s Church Feast Day mass and procession, always in June, had never been cancelled in its 107 years, not even during the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 nor the Two World Wars. For he first time in 45 years, we could not gather to celebrate the Settimana Italiana di Ottawa festivities along Preston Street. However, we all learned to go virtual and partake in some of Italian Week’s online events and we have all discovered Zoom in the process.
Many Associations had milestone anniversaries to mark and it is our hope that these celebrations can take place at a later date. Congratulations to the Associazione Rapinese on their 50th anniversary-Auguri!
One cannot forget the frontline workers and staff at Villa Marconi who have helped keep our seniors safe and well during these last 4 months. Now, with long term care homes being allowed a little more flexibility in visiting times, families of the residents of Villa have been reunited, albeit for short visits, with their loved ones. Essential services have been so important over this last little while and a big shout out them!
With Ottawa now in Phase 3 of reopening, please help support the many local restaurants and small businesses that were shut down for many months. Many are taking their time to get their businesses fitted properly so as to be able to serve you in a safe manner.
The National Congress of Italian Canadians (National Capital District) hopes that in the near future, we will all be able to gather together again in a social setting. But, until we can do so safely, following mandated health and government guidelines, we will continue to connect online. We always welcome new ideas, stories and suggestions so that we can share with the community.
If you have not done so yet, please take a look at the virtual exhibit online to mark the 80th Anniversary of the Internment of Italian Canadians. With this important milestone marked on June 10, 2020 to be exact, The Congress has been able to assemble a variety of both written, spoken and visual material to profile this dark chapter in Canadian history. This exhibit, found on the NCIC website at : www.ncicottawa.com/internment will serve as a wonderful compendium of material related to the Internment and will be able to remain relevant as both an educational and awareness vehicle. New material is being added on a regular basis.
In closing, please enjoy the rest of the summer. I know that many of you have spent your past summers in Italy and it is our hope that next year, you will be able to do so again.
Please stay well and we will get through this together!
Best regards,
Trina
Trina Costantini-Powell
President, National Congress of Italian-Canadians (National Capital District)
Our Executive:
● Trina Costantini-Powell President
● Michael Aquilino Vice-President
● Carla Minoli-Lappa Vice-President
● Grace Disipio Secretary
● Anna Gaudio Treasurer
Directors:
● Enza Baiamonte, Enzo Bertorelli, Lorenzo Bonera
● Bruno Giammaria, Antonio Cellucci, Dr.Maria Assunta Cuffaro
● Mario Cinel, Tony Cuffaro, Corrado Nicastro
● Josephine Palumbo Past-President
E-mail: ottawancic@gmail.com
On the web: www.ncicottawa.com
Tel:613-816-4315
This special summer edition dedicated to...
Ottawa Italian Women’s Filò
Celebrating inspirational Italian-Canadian women in Ottawa since 2003
Enza Baiamonte and Bonnie Favilla
Recipients of a 2020 Filo Award.
Ottawa Italian Women's Filo Committee 2020
Gina Zacconi, organizer, presenting donation to Nelson House, March 8, 2020
Tina Spadola with Daughters Mattia Spadola, Adriana Spadola Morrone and granddaughter Gabriella Morrone
"International Women’s Day is on the 8th of March and it celebrates the commemoration of Women’s Rights and International Peace".
Find out why Italians give the Mimosa flower to their women?
I FRIULIANI DI OTTAWA
Il Fogolâr Furlan di Ottawa
(Written by Ivano Cargnello, President, Il Fogolâr Furlan di Ottawa, originally published in Cisilute, the Friulian publication of the Fogolars Federation of Canada)
(Testo in Italiano)
WEBINAR SERIES SPONSORED BY
THE MONTREAL ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE
On July 9 in its Webinar Series the Montreal Italian Cultural Institute presented a discussion on the wide-ranging work of the Italian anthropologist Vito Teti,
particularly that aspect of his writings that has to do with migration and related topics.