Welcome
This is the website of the National Congress of Italian-Canadians, Edmonton District, which was established in 1979 and is a registered Society in Alberta and a registered charity in Canada. It promotes the preservation, study and interpretation of the contributions that Canadians of Italian descent have made to Edmonton and District, the Province of Alberta, to Canada and also globally.
NCIC initiatives have continued to evolve over the years with a range of programs and services. The Edmonton 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.
Past activities have included the development in partnership with the Heritage Community Foundation of the Celebrating Alberta’s Italian Community website. When the Foundation ceased operations on June 30, 2009, it was gifted to the University of Alberta as part of the Alberta Online Encyclopedia. The NCIC has obtained the rights for this website and its rich historical and educational content will be made available from time to time in the next year. We begin by including information on the following:
- Edmonton’s Italian History
- Edmonton People
- Edmonton Oral Histories - Transcripts
- Photo Albums
- Virtual Tour of Little Italy
Past-President Adriana A. Davies developed the profile of Edmonton’s Italian community for the Edmonton Heritage Council’ Edmonton Community as Museum Project (ECAMP) and you can find this at the following links:
The City of Edmonton and the Boyle McCauley News sponsored the development of Little Italy: A Place of History and Culture in McCauley. The walking tour booklet was written by Adriana Davies, Edmonton’s authority on Italian culture and history.
The NCIC, Edmonton District is part of a number of regional congresses under the national “umbrella” entity The National Congress of Italian Canadians. We are also a part of the Italian Canadian Archives Project, an initiative involving universities and community organizations and institutions in the study and preservation of Italian-Canadian history.