History

The National Congress of Italian-Canadians, Edmonton District owes its inception to provincial legislation and cultural policies that began to impact on the Italian community in the mid-to-late 1970s. The Province of Alberta was a leader in embracing multiculturalism and, under Horst Schmid, Minister of Culture, Youth and Recreation, proclaimed the Alberta Heritage Day Act, in 1974. This established the first Monday in August as a cultural heritage holiday. The Cultural Heritage Council was set up and the Cultural Heritage Foundation with the mandate to operate a grants program for qualifying groups. This new policy had an enormous impact on Edmonton’s Italian community, no doubt inspired by the fact that the city was Alberta’s capital. The result was the creation of new societies and also a building boom. Three Italian centres were built supported by the Community Facilities Enhancement Program, which funded the building and renovation of structures throughout Alberta including cultural, educational, sports and recreational facilities as well as community and church halls.

The Edmonton Heritage Festival was established in 1977. Under the leadership of Sab Roncucci, representing the Dante Alighieri Society, the Italian community took part. The year 1978 saw the number of participating groups increase to 30. Mayfair Park (renamed Hawrelak Park in 1982) became the Festival’s permanent home. A group was required to take on this programmatic role and, in 1979, the National Congress of Italian-Canadians, Edmonton District (NCIC) was established. This was a branch of the Ottawa-based organization, which was set up in 1974 to bring together Italian organizations from every province and to give Canada’s Italian community a stronger voice.

The NCIC, Edmonton District was incorporated under the Societies Act of Alberta and its foundation is a registered charity. A primary activity became the organization of the Italian pavilion at the annual Heritage Festival. The Congress also began to develop a range of community building work including liaison with other ethnocultural communities and with the various levels of government. Among the founders were Carlo Amodio, Rudy Cavaliere, Tony Mazucca and Sab Roncucci.

Over the years, NCIC has been instrumental in realizing a number of community projects serving Edmonton and region. From the outset, NCIC presidents Carlo Amodio, Rudy Cavaliere, Tony Mazucca, Fausta Marazzo, Adriana (Albi) Davies, Sam Amelio and Paul Cavaliere were aware that multiculturalism was more than Italian food and dance. Over the years, activities included:

  • donation of the waterfall in the Shaw Conference Centre on the occasion of the City of Edmonton's 75th birthday (the centre opened in 1983)
  • raising funds for earthquake relief in Italy
  • raising funds to benefit the people of Eritrea
  • construction of Piazza Italia Seniors Residence
  • talent shows and concerts and
  • the donation of a monument to the Province of Alberta on the occasion of its 100th anniversary in 2005.

NCIC initiatives have continued to evolve over the years; the Heritage Festival in August remains its primary activity and major revenue generator. The festival is one of Canada’s largest ethnocultural festivals and has grown to span the entire August long weekend. It is attended by over 400,000 people. Running the Italian Pavilion is a major volunteer commitment and is run by the Board of the NCIC, Edmonton District.

Revenues generated allow NCIC to provide grants to Italian community organizations and some individuals with projects that provide benefit to the Italian community as a whole. Beneficiaries have included Italian-language students and courses at the University of Alberta as well as some funding for the Department of Music. Initial efforts to bring the various Edmonton societies under its umbrella were unsuccessful; however, a few societies support NCIC initiatives, such as Heritage Days. In 2002, NCIC provided some financial support to the Heritage Community Foundation to create the Celebrating Alberta's Italian Community website, which is part of the Alberta Online Encyclopedia.

celebratory activities to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of composer Giuseppe Verdi – the Edmonton Verdi FestivalIn 2013, the NCIC partnered with the Celebrating Italian Families of Edmonton Society (CIFES) to develop celebratory activities to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of composer Giuseppe Verdi – the Edmonton Verdi Festival. The six-month festival was the largest festival outside of Italy and provided a showcase for musical talent. Partners from outside the Italian community included the Edmonton Opera and Chorus, the Edmonton Youth Orchestra, Citie Ballet and the Suzuki School. Emilio de Mercato, concert pianist, conductor and composer was the music director.

The management team of Il Congresso: Rudy Cavaliere, Carlo Amodio and Alessandro Urso at Heritage Days in 2009. The article, in the last issue, December 2009, notes, “É stato un piacere” (“It was a pleasure!”). The paper documented Alberta’s Italian community and connected Italian-Canadians with issues in Italy for 25 years. Image courtesy of Il Congresso.The NCIC also created Il Congresso, an Italian newspaper with a provincial mandate; the management team comprised Carlo Amodio, Rudy Cavaliere and Alessandro Urso. The first issue was published in April 1984. Within the first year of operations, the paper became independent and the founders set up CURA Enterprises Ltd. The paper focused on Italian community news and articles were in English and Italian, depending on the preference of the author. Il Congresso nurtured columnists including Sab Roncucci, Frank Albi of Portland, Oregon, Adriana Davies and Consul of Italy Giovanni Bincoletto, who wrote under the pseudonym “Il Gatto Pardo.” The paper operated for 25 years until 2010. It is an important archival resource documenting Edmonton and Alberta’s Italian communities. Selected articles can be found on a database on the Celebrating Alberta’s Italian Community website.

The Junior Appennini Dancers (later the Italian Appennini Dancers) group was established, in 1979, by the founding members of the NCIC, Edmonton District to promote and display Italian cultural traditions such as folk dancing and music. The young performers were frequently the children of NCIC members. The group was named after the Appennini Mountain Range, which extends from Northern to Southern Italy, and symbolizes the “spine” unifying all regions.The dancers became a feature of the Italian Pavilion stage at Heritage Days as well as representing the community at major festivals in Alberta including in Edmonton, Calgary, Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise; in Saskatchewan; and various regions of Italy. The dancers also present at seniors and extended care facilities, and other community events.


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