Italian Day, Vancouver’s largest cultural street festival, is returning to Commercial Drive on Sunday, June 14, 2015. Now into its sixth year, Italian Day celebrates more than 50 years of Italian heritage in Vancouver, bringing together the best that Italy has to offer in our own backyard. This year’s festival puts a special focus on Italian ART, with pre-event showcases of Italian film and painting, and breathtaking examples of Italian design, music, theatre, food, crafts and activities throughout the event!

Event:
Italian Day on The Drive

When:
Sunday, Jun 14, 2015
12:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Where:
Commercial Drive (all festivities positioned along The Drive from Venables to Grandview Cut)

Kicking off the cultural celebration this year is an all-new Italian Day Film Festival, which will present eight classic Italian films at the Rio Theatre, along with a free outdoor screening June 5 at the Italian Cultural Centre (Beaconsfield Park).

ALL-NEW this year is a special Vancouver Art Gallery exhibit leading up to the event! Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums is an exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery, organized by the American Federation of Arts and Glasgow Museums, in collaboration with Italian Day cultural partner the Consulate General of Italy in Vancouver, giving viewers an immersive Italian ART experience from the Middle Ages to modern times starting June 12.

For more information on the events leading up to Italian Day, visit italianday.ca.

New and exciting activities for Italian Day 2015 include:

• All-new third stage at Grandview Park, boasting Italian martial arts demonstrations by Blood and Iron, improv by Theatre Temp from Templeton Secondary School, Marionette Puppet Shows, music performances and Italian-inspired contests that will be fun for the whole family! 
• Special appearances by actor Antonio Cupo on 2nd Ave (main stage), famous for his roles in both Italian and American films, and exciting music programming by Il Centro on Grant Stage, featuring the Cory Weeds quartet, opera, theatre, jazz, and much more! 
• Fashion show starring Italian fashion designer Rocco Adriano Galluccio, who has appeared in magazines like Vogue and Elle, and RozeMerie Cuevas, one of Vancouver’s most tenured designers, paired with ‘Made in Italy’ shoes provided by long time Drive merchant, Kalena’s Shoes & Accessories 
• Family-friendly fun with the Little Italy Kids Zone in Grandview Park, the Whitecaps/BMO Fun Zone, and the Car2Go sponsored Bocce Court 
• A special interactive photo-art project presented by the Britannia Community Centre in celebration of Italian ART
• Out-of-this-world raffle prizes including a trip for two to Italy, courtesy of Da Vinci Travel, and a Motorino electric scooter, with partial proceeds going to Theatre Temp, supporting youth mentorship through film and theatre

Back by popular demand are performances by City Opera Vancouver and Vancouver Opera, Italian folkloric choirs, traditional Famee Furlane dancers from the Friuli region of Italy, and performances by showman Federico Fuoco & Fire as well as international singer/songwriter Carmelina Cupo.

As always, there will be food, displays and shopping to satisfy your craving for everything Italian including over 100 merchants and guest vendors, a line up of food trucks and carts, more than 20 restaurant patios and an array of things to see from Italian honey bees to classic cars and motorcycles. New this year is the Flavours of Little Italy on The Drive Passport (found in Il Giornale, the Italian Day event magazine to hit the streets the week of May 19), which offers a discount on unlimited purchases throughout the whole month of June at some of the Drive’s best Italian-owned treasures (not valid Italian Day).

For more information on what’s new at Italian Day, visit www.italianday.ca

On Twitter: @ItalianDay #ItalianDay #ART

TICKET GIVEAWAY

Want to win a pair of tickets to see the Of Heaven and Earth exhibit once it opens on June 12 ($45 value)? I'll select a winner on Wednesday, June 10th and notify the winner by email. Good luck!

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