COVID-19 update

Plans for future IFAFA Conferences are on-hold until it is once again safe to travel and gather in large groups. We hope that everyone is  following CDC guidelines to remain safe and healthy.


Out of Rushmore’s Shadow

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF)  is presenting Expo Italiana on November 2, including a presentation about Luigi Del Bianco, the chief carver of Mount Rushmore! His grandson, Lou Del Bianco will bring his grandfather’s story to life with captivating storytelling, authentic photos, videos and primary source documents about Luigi’s life and the making of America’s most impressive memorial.


This is just one of the many special presentations that will be taking place from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at NIAF’s Expo Italiana.

For more details about other events, check out our Weekend Schedule at www.niaf.org/gala.


IFAFA Conference dates extended!

If you haven’t yet signed up for this year’s IFAFA Conference, there is still time! Dates have been extended for hotel bookings and late fee. The late fee date has been extended to August 28, so you still qualify for early registration until then without paying the $15 late fee. The hotel may now be booked through September 11 at the special IFAFA rate. The registration form and additional information can be found in the latest edition of Tradizioni, which is available now.


Conference: Early Reg Deadline Reminder

As you know, we are coming up on our 2019 IFAFA Conference in Milwaukee, WI, September 27-29. Members of Tradizione Vivente have some wonderful activities planned for us. We hope that you are planning to attend.

So far, they have received a small number of registration forms. Please don’t wait until the last minute! Remember that THE DEADLINE FOR EARLY REGISTRATION IS AUGUST 17, after which an additional $15 fee will be required.

You may register (and pay dues, if you have not yet done so) on our IFAFA website: https://ifafa.us/event/2017-ifafa-conference/

Hotel booking details can be found on the registration form.

Please advise Megan Zanon <<megan.e.zanon@gmail.com>> if you will be unable to attend. It will help Tradizione Vivente with their planning. You may also email Megan if you have questions about the conference.


2019 IFAFA Conference!!

Have you registered yet for our 2019 IFAFA Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 27-29?  If you have not yet made your hotel reservations, please call the Crown Plaza Milwaukee Airport at 1-414-764-5300 and give them the IFAFA Conference code “ZVV” to get the IFAFA room rate for Friday and Saturday nights. For more information, and to download a registration form, please go to our Event Page!!


Lent in Italy

Lent in Italy – Corajisima, A Calabrian Tradition

This article is from Calabria: The Other Italy. Check out this website to see additional information and pictures:

https://www.calabriatheotheritaly.com/lent-in-italy-calabrian-tradition/?fbclid=IwAR3nptIiW40RxkdagZcDpVEjozCoCKcoofgTooswgwXUZCAqtOeXjNGmm6g

If you happen to be celebrating Easter in Calabria and you arrive a little early, you may just come across what looks like a ragdoll hanging from a balcony or the side of a house. Not to panic, this is not some form of malocchio or evil eye, but Corajisima, a traditional practice during Lent in Italy, specifically, Calabria and other areas of the south.

WHAT IS CORAJISIMA?

Corajisima is more a who than a what. She is the wife or perhaps more accurately said, the widow, of Carnevale. She can also be called the sorella or sister of Carnevale. After the great feast of Martedì Grasso or Fat Tuesday, Carnevale, the embodiment of the revelries, dies. Poor Corajisima remains alone. Usually depicted as an ugly, skinny old woman with a decidedly unsettling appearance, she represents abstinence in the Lenten period.

Continue reading “Lent in Italy”


Carnevale!

Il Carnevale Italiano: usanze, tradizioni e proverbi dialettali

This article appeared on the website of Musica Popolare Italiana in February of 2018. Follow this link to see more pictures and videos:

http://www.musicapopolareitaliana.com/in-evidenza/78186/il-carnevale-italiano-usanze-tradizioni-e-proverbi-dialettali/

Redazione Musica Popolare 12/02/2018 

Il carnevale è una festa che si celebra nei Paesi di tradizione cattolica. I festeggiamenti si svolgono spesso in pubbliche parate in cui dominano elementi giocosi e fantasiosi; in particolare, l’elemento distintivo e caratterizzante del carnevale è l’uso del mascheramento.

Il “Processo del Carnevale” è tra i festeggiamenti carnevaleschi più diffusi, infatti lo ritroviamo in molte regioni italiane e sopravvive anche nella tradizione popolare odierna. Dopo il testamento del Carnevale, al quale si addossano tutti i mali del vecchio ciclo annuale, di solito si usa metterlo a morte. L’uccisione può avvenire per per impiccagione o decapitazione ed è il momento culminante del dramma e dei festeggiamenti, ma la forma più usuale è quella del fuoco, ovvero la messa al rogo del fantoccio di Carnevale che troviamo in tantissime località.

Continue reading “Carnevale!”


Are you a FaceBook user?

If you use Face Book, be sure to find IFAFA’s FB page and follow it. We post information about our members’ activities, folk events in both the U.S. and Italy, and other items of cultural or folkloric interest. Once you receive our posts regularly, please interact with us! It “boosts our ratings” the more people like and comment on the postings, so please visit frequently and boost the ratings by liking and commenting often on the posts. Just looking at the page, but not participating, is not as helpful.

 

We would also like to receive more news from IFAFA troupes and individuals that we can post. Even if it is not likely that someone in California would be able to attend an event in, say, Rockford, IL, including posts about local events shows the breadth of IFAFA’s activities. When someone local does like a post, that person’s like may be seen by others who may then become aware of, and join, our page. If you have events that you would like to see on the IFAFA FB page, you may add it as a Visitor Post, or you may email pictures and brief descriptions to Jackie Capurro at <viva_ifafa@hotmail.com>.


ANNUAL ITALIAN CHRISTMAS MARKET at the American Italian Heritage Museum Albany, NY

ANNUAL ITALIAN CHRISTMAS MARKET
at the American Italian Heritage Museum
Albany, NY
FRI., NOV. 30th & SAT., DEC. 1 st : 10 am to 5 pm // SUN., DEC. 2 nd: 11am to 3 pm

Share this festive Italian Tradition with us in our American Italian Heritage Museum building, 1227 Central Avenue in Albany, NY. Our exhibit rooms will be transformed into market places filled with so much for you to enjoy, each one having something for almost everyone on your Christmas shopping list ~ including yourself! Be sure to look for unique Italian merchandise that will be available for purchase featuring things that are hard to find: Italian language greeting cards, Made-in-Italy items, hand-made wood Ceppo, Befana figures, themed ornaments, plaques, novelties, jewelry, delicious homemade Italian baked goods & much more along with our talented vendors upstairs, including Nini’s Sicilian Salsa. Come, see the always beautiful room-sized Italian Nativity Special Exhibit and celebrate our culture at this most beautiful time of year. **Sit down in our Market Café & enjoy food, beverages & fellowship. Buon Natale!**

 


Festa del Grano in Molise

These flowers, handmade from wheat, are just one facet of the elaborate tradition in Jelsi, Molise, where an annual Festa del Grano is held in honor of Saint Anna. Search for more live video and archives of this enduring tradition.

  

For more, visit this English language site with several videos detailing the event:
http://annoeuropeo2018.beniculturali.it/…/festa-del-grano-…/

Our thanks to Janine Giarrusso, an IFAFA member from Pittsburgh, PA, for this interesting post! This festival takes place today (26 JULY 2018) in Molise!