OCEAN COUNTY – It was a weekend of Italian pride! Several Seaside Heights streets showcased the sounds, scents and excitement of Italy as one of Ocean County’s most treasured fall festivals returned.
For three days the Borough played host to this special ethnic event that included the 33rd annual Ocean County Columbus Day Parade that enjoyed perfect weather.
As per tradition, the Ocean County Columbus Day Parade Committee brought a folkloric performance group from Italy to entertain attendees during the weekend. They took part during the festival and also marched down the Boulevard for the parade.
Cantori Popolari Delle Isole Eolie originates from the Aeolian Island, a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Their mission is to preserve the traditional sounds and cultural heritage of the Aeolian Islands located north of Sicily, in southern Italy.
The group’s music featured a blend of traditional instruments, such as the tambourine, accordion, guitar and mandolin along with polyphonic vocal arrangements. These songs often communicate tales of daily life, love, and the sea.
On the morning of the parade, Band Director Giuseppe Bianchi joined fellow members for some breakfast served up by members of the Lacey Italian-American Club who provided meals for the performers at a church facility of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church at 100 Grant Avenue.
“We have some new members with us this year helping out. This is a nice tradition for us,” former Lacey Italian American Club president Gerry LaPenna said.
Bianchi said, “We are staying here for eight days and 99% of those in my group it is their first time here, our group is 47 years old. We have traveled all over the world, Australia, Mexico, Russia, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and all over. We have a school that has small children from four to 12 years old and they are learning the dances and music.”
“We have whole families who are part of the group. We have four from one family here,” he added. “Since we have been here, we performed at the Brick High schools. We will be going to Atlantic City and to New York and we will be visiting a senior facility.”
Among the members costumed and ready to perform were Angela D’Ambra and Patricia Puglisi. D’Ambra said, “I am very happy to be here and happy to see the differences in the culture here from where I live and in America. This is my first time in America.”
“Everything is big here. We are from a small island in a small town, so everything is big here in comparison,” D’Ambra.
Puglisi added that she was also enjoying their visit and what they had seen and their performances during the festival.
Sunday’s parade featured a variety of bands area Italian-American clubs, school organizations and drew a large crowd. The festival featured a variety of vendors offering up food, jewelry, clothing items, flags, banners and more. Roaming street bands and various local and state wide entertainers came in to provide some Italian songs and classic oldies performed under the tent during the festival.
Mary Mallue of Brick was looking forward to seeing her daughter Jessica marching down the parade route with the Brick High School Italian American Club. “I went to high school with Mike (Blandina) the Ocean County Columbus Day Parade Chairman. “She will be one of the banner holders. I am excited to see the (folkloric) dancers because I did not get to see them when they came to the high school. Jessica and I went to Italy and Ireland earlier this year.”
Another parade spectator who identified herself as Lynn K, said she comes to the festival and parade “on and off. I was here two years ago. My son will be driving my brother’s black and white Chevy with the Ocean County Vintage Auto Club. I love the food, zeppole, jewelry at the festival and it is a beautiful day for the parade.”
“My mom lives on 2nd Avenue in Seaside Park so we join her for this as a tradition. We’ve been coming since my daughter was a baby and she’s 18 this year,” Kirsten Braman of Haddonfield said.
Her mother Nina Coffy who is Sicilian was happy to learn that this year’s folkloric dance group was from Sicily. “The food is good but I also love the Irish potatoes.”
“We are happy to say the Ocean County Columbus Day Parade and Italian Festival has become one of the most popular ethnic cultural festivals in the state,” Blandina said. He noted groups like Cantori Popolari Delle Isole Eolie add an “authentic spirit of Italian heritage and culture, as well as a taste of the homeland to these events.”
Blandina credited John Giavatto, who serves as the committee’s International Relations Chairman with continuing to make the arrangements that provide the folkloric groups each autumn. “The Ocean County Columbus Day Parade Committee consists of a small group of individuals who are volunteers and give up hours of their time to make these events memorable, for those attending year after year.”
