SHARE

Tuckahoe, Eastchester Celebrate Italian Culture With Festival, Scholarship

EASTCHESTER, N.Y. – The Eastchester-Tuckahoe Columbus Day Committee is set to again celebrate Italian heritage and culture at the annual Columbus Day-St. Pio Festival.

Eastchester High School senior Julia Benedictis will be awarded a scholarship at the annual scholarship dinner.

Eastchester High School senior Julia Benedictis will be awarded a scholarship at the annual scholarship dinner.

Photo Credit: Contributed
A statue of St. Pio of Pietrelcina in Washington, N.J. The Tuckahoe-Eastchester Columbus Day festival will honor the saint in the 11th year since his canonization.

A statue of St. Pio of Pietrelcina in Washington, N.J. The Tuckahoe-Eastchester Columbus Day festival will honor the saint in the 11th year since his canonization.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Flickr user Loci Lenar

This year’s festival will feature food vendors, a parade and celebrity guest appearances. The event will begin on Friday, Sept. 19, and continue through the weekend.

The Eastchester-Tuckahoe Columbus Day Committee comprises the Giuseppe Garibaldi Lodge, Sons of Italy and the Eastchester Italian-American Citizens Club, with support and funding coming from the Generoso Pope Foundation.

The festival begins on Sept. 19 with a 6 p.m. Mass, in Italian, at the Assumption Church, followed by the annual procession of St. Pio to Depot Square. The weekend comes full circle at 7 p.m. on Sept. 21 at the church for prayers and benediction.

At the annual Scholarship Dinner, the committee will celebrate Woman of the Year JoAnn Mazzella-Murphy and the Carapella Family, who will receive the Legacy Award.

In addition, the scholarship dinner will honor Julia DeBenedictis, who was named Miss Columbus 2014 and earned a $10,000 scholarship from the Generoso Pope Foundation. The scholarship highlights the Eastchester High School senior's commitment to Italian culture and her academic accomplishments.

“The committee and I find it fitting to honor on a local level these individuals who have given so much to our village,” David Anthony Pope, president and chief executive officer of the foundation funding the event, said in a statement.”

Festival hours will be from 5 to 11 p.m. on Sept. 19 and 20 and from 12 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 21. For tickets for the scholarship dinner, which will be held at the Marina del Rey in the Bronx, call Mario Annunziata at 914-870-2253.

 

to follow Daily Voice Bronxville and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE