Musicians fly in for celebration of Italian culture in Bolton

By Zachary Roman

It's not often that famous artists from Italy fly in to perform in Caledon.

But that's exactly what happened for the Caledon Italian Heritage Celebration on June 11. Held at the Albion-Bolton fairgrounds, the sold-out event saw a crowd of up to 1500 people, Italians and non-Italians alike, enjoying live music, delicious food, and Italian culture.

The event was organized by the Bolton Italian Cultural Centre, of which Anna Meo is president. The Centre is a not-for-profit community organization established in 2003 that's goal is to share Italian culture and traditions across Caledon.

Meo took time at the Heritage Celebration, which had been in the works for two years, to talk to the Citizen. She explained the official announcement of Caledon becoming a twin town with Isola del Liri in Italy was made at the event.

The Heritage Celebration was made possible by the plethora of sponsors supporting it, explained Meo, and she wanted to thank them all. She then explained why it was so important to have a celebration of Italian culture.

“The Bolton Italian Cultural Centre's supposed to represent not only the actual people, but also the history, the culture in general. So, because it's a heritage day, the heritage day brings in our personal history,” said Meo. 

She explained many Italian immigrants came to Canada full of dreams and that what Canada gave to them, and what they gave to Canada is worth celebrating. Italians have achieved so much in Canada, she added.

“I'm sure other cultures are on the same boat as we are. It's important that we live in a multicultural country and we learn about each other. And this is the beginning. We want to transmit that beauty that we have been celebrating for years to others and hopefully others will invite us to celebrate with them,” said Meo.

The musical artists from Italy performing at the Heritage Celebration were Sandro Giacobbe & Marina Peroni, followed by I Cugini di Campagna.

Caledon Councillor Tony Rosa said before June 11, people were asking him if the artists were really coming because they couldn't believe it. He said people traveled from other parts of Ontario just to see them, which was good for Bolton hotels and restaurants.

“We have had Italian heritage days before but never to this magnitude. It looks like people are ready to support this initiative, so I think the plan next year is to try to do something very similar,” said Rosa. “It also gave an opportunity to the local businesses to showcase their products.”

Rosa is of Italian descent himself; both of his parents were born in Italy just south of Rome. He said one of the best things about Canada is its multiculturalism and that it's important for people to celebrate their respective heritages and cultures.

“If you take a look at the City of Toronto, you can dine in almost… every country in the world,” he said. “We are really a true example of the world in one location. Having the opportunity to… showcase the rich culture of the Italian community when it comes to art, music, cuisine — It brought me back to my childhood, it brought me back to my roots and I was so pleased at how well it was embraced.”

Rosa said one of the things most rewarding about the Heritage Celebration for him was the fact so many non-Italians attended. He said moving forward, he and the Bolton Italian Cultural Centre really want to engage the entire community so that even more people can come out and celebrate with them.