I just spent the last four days at Buffalo's Italian Festival – the 2nd largest outdoor Italian festival in the world! My 80-year old mother went with me every day and stayed each night until they closed! We met up with family and friends there, we ate, we attended some great outdoor entertainment and concerts, we made new friends, we participated in the cooking demonstrations (and ate some more!), and we even won an Italian trivia contest!
While we were there on Friday with my Aunt Marie and my cousins Dawn, Susan and Dave, we saw a great performance by Franco Corso who is originally from Italy and charmed us all with his singing and his warm personality. The divas in the audience (Aunt Marie & Mom) even got a kiss! When we walked around the festival we ate some good Italian food and had some gelato. We also saw a very good replica of the Trevi Fountain and a Venice gondola complete with a gondolier. It reminded Dawn and I that in less than nine months we will be seeing and eating the real things in Rome and Venice!
The following night my mother and I watched a performance by Tony Galla, an Italian American originally from Buffalo who now resides in LA and has had several recording contracts as well as doing soundtracks for films and national commercials. We weren't as impressed with him as we were with the Italian singer from the night before until he called his sister up on stage and they performed a duet that we really enjoyed. Then he said, "You heard my sister sing, now do you want to hear my mother sing?" The crowd went wild as someone helped his Italian mama onto the stage. She took the mike and said - I just turned 90 years old June 21st, and then she belted out a tune that brought down the house! She was as cute as can be and sang two more songs with her son and daughter before she said – That's enough! – and she got off the stage. But not before she danced a lively dance with the young man that came up to escort her off the stage!
But… the best thing that came out of going to the Italian Festival with my mother for 4 days was that she is now much more interested in our trip to Italy. Don't get too excited, she still doesn't want to go… but… she said if we do buy a piece of property there like we are planning, she will come and stay for a month! She said she'd even be our "Italian Mama cooking in la cucina".
So, this post is dedicated to all the Italian Mama's – especially the 90 year old Italian singer at the Italian festival, my "Zia" Maria, who is always ready to go anywhere and is such a pleasure to be with, and my own Italian Mama, Lori, who continuously amazes me and my brothers. Viva la Mama!
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