VIC 2013 Epiphany Celebration at Pizzeria Verita' in Burlington
More than 50 VIC members and guests celebrated Epifania at Pizzeria Verita' on Sunday, January 6, 2013. La Befana, of course, made her appearance with gifts for all. John Rao and his energetic staff provided wonderful antipasti, salad and pizza and super good dolci.
See the photo slideshow below.
See the photo slideshow below.
The Vermont Italian Club Celebrated Epiphany (Epifania) on January 8, 2012
(Click on the photo to see more pictures)
The Amici group of our club sponsored a well-attended and successful celebration of Epiphany (Epifania) in the Italian tradition at Pulcinella's Restaurant in South Burlington on January 8th, 2012. It followed the date of January 6th that Epiphany is celebrated on most liturgical church calendars, acknowledging the manifestation of the Christ Child to the Magi in Bethlehem.
At Pulcinella's, it was the manifestation of the culinary skills of chef-owner Sam Palmisano that was evident. The colorful buffet had an array of salads and antipasti, primi dishes of pastas, a secondo of stuffed pork, and last, but never least in the Italian mind, were the dolci of cannoli, cream puffs and fresh strawberries. "Pulcinella's is our way of paying respect to the people past and present who were born with nothing, but never let their spirit die," their website says. "The people who always have a smile, always have a joke, and who love to entertain with fine food and drink. So sit back, relax and enjoy the show from our open kitchen preparing the finest traditional food."
And that's exactly what sixty members and guests did to celebrate the end of the Italian Christmas season there. The guitar and accordion of Janice Russotti and Albert Joy and the sing-alongs created the lively Italian atmosphere necessary for an Italian celebration. To everyone's delight, la Befana (a.k.a. Peggy Citarella) showed up as la vecchia who gives gifts to children on the eve of Epifania. All the guests got a gift for being good. No one got a piece of coal as a naughty one. Senator Patrick Leahy, however, was the only one that got a kiss from la Befana as his wife Marcelle looked on with a big smile!
Kaitlin Moran, the winner of the VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations to Tuscany that was part of the VIC membership drive for 2012, was present. As a new VIC member, Kaitlin and her mother Ann, who will actually be taking the tour, were able to meet and connect with others who had taken a similar tour, including VIC president Adele Dienno. Many new VIC members were present to meet other members and their guests, so the event provided a great opportunity to discuss their interests in the Italian culture that generally fueled the conversations.
Door prizes were raffled, a couple of which were the donated hand-work of VIC members Wilma Gatti and Carol Usher. The flowers which served as centerpieces were donated by Chappel's Flower Shop's Recycled Flowers program and were sent home with those whose birthdays were closest to January 6th. The success of the event can be attributed to Ann Arms, who coordinated the Amici luncheons for years and pulled all the details together for this one with the help of Carol Usher.
At Pulcinella's, it was the manifestation of the culinary skills of chef-owner Sam Palmisano that was evident. The colorful buffet had an array of salads and antipasti, primi dishes of pastas, a secondo of stuffed pork, and last, but never least in the Italian mind, were the dolci of cannoli, cream puffs and fresh strawberries. "Pulcinella's is our way of paying respect to the people past and present who were born with nothing, but never let their spirit die," their website says. "The people who always have a smile, always have a joke, and who love to entertain with fine food and drink. So sit back, relax and enjoy the show from our open kitchen preparing the finest traditional food."
And that's exactly what sixty members and guests did to celebrate the end of the Italian Christmas season there. The guitar and accordion of Janice Russotti and Albert Joy and the sing-alongs created the lively Italian atmosphere necessary for an Italian celebration. To everyone's delight, la Befana (a.k.a. Peggy Citarella) showed up as la vecchia who gives gifts to children on the eve of Epifania. All the guests got a gift for being good. No one got a piece of coal as a naughty one. Senator Patrick Leahy, however, was the only one that got a kiss from la Befana as his wife Marcelle looked on with a big smile!
Kaitlin Moran, the winner of the VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations to Tuscany that was part of the VIC membership drive for 2012, was present. As a new VIC member, Kaitlin and her mother Ann, who will actually be taking the tour, were able to meet and connect with others who had taken a similar tour, including VIC president Adele Dienno. Many new VIC members were present to meet other members and their guests, so the event provided a great opportunity to discuss their interests in the Italian culture that generally fueled the conversations.
Door prizes were raffled, a couple of which were the donated hand-work of VIC members Wilma Gatti and Carol Usher. The flowers which served as centerpieces were donated by Chappel's Flower Shop's Recycled Flowers program and were sent home with those whose birthdays were closest to January 6th. The success of the event can be attributed to Ann Arms, who coordinated the Amici luncheons for years and pulled all the details together for this one with the help of Carol Usher.
