October marks the eleventh annual Italian-American Heritage Month, and Gov. Deval Patrick has issued a proclamation officially declaring October as Italian-American Heritage Month in Massachusetts. Wakefield’s own Dr. Stephen F. Maio is chairman of the state-wide committee sponsoring the month-long observance.

“The purposes of Italian-American Heritage Month are educational and celebratory,” according to the committee’s Mission Statement. “Our goal is to inform the public about the contributions made by Italians and Italian-Americans to our civilization, especially in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, and to celebrate the impact that Italian culture and language have had and continue to have on our lives as Italian-Americans.” The 2009 Annual Kick-off event was held on October 1 in Boston at the Grand Staircase of the Massachusetts State House.

Middle School and High School students are invited to participate in the Italian Heritage Month Essay Contest by writing a 300 word student essay on “Contributions Made by Italians or Italian-Americans to World Civilization.” Prizes, cash awards and certificate of participation will be awarded. For more information and to participate, please contact Dr. John Christoforo. Email: Beagsley@rcn.com

Beebe Library is happy to participate in Italian American Heritage month with a display of books and music by and about Italians and Italian-Americans as well as DVDs about Italy.

The official web site for Italian-American Heritage Month is http://www.italianheritagemonth.com/.

Categories: Miscellaneous
Tags: Dr. Stephen F. Maio, Italian, Italian-American, Italian-American Heritage, Italian-Americans, Italians, Italy