to hold an Annual Columbus Day Parade, by the misguided Native American
and Hispanic Communities for more than a decade.
In 2000, the first Parade in a decade, was subjected to insults, rocks
and urine
filled balloons. The 2001 Parade was canceled because of Nine-Eleven.
OSIA, deserves commendation for "mobilizing" it's forces in Colorado,
on behalf of, and in "service" to the Italian American Community.
The thoughts and hearts of all us I-As will be with the Denver Marchers!!!!
====================================================
SONS OF ITALY TO HOLD COLUMBUS DAY
PARADE IN DENVER
WASHINGTON, July 25, 2002 - It’s official! Thanks to the Order Sons
of Italy
in America (OSIA), Denver, Colorado, will have a Columbus Day parade
this
year despite the efforts of American Indian activists and other groups
to
derail the celebration.
The parade will be Saturday, October 12, under the sponsorship of a
local
Sons of Italy lodge, “The New Generation,” with support from the OSIA
Grand
Lodge of Colorado and OSIA’s Commission for Social Justice (CSJ).
The successful outcome was the result of hard work and good luck. Denver
only gives out two parade permits per day, one for the morning and
the other
for the afternoon. Groups attempting to thwart plans for a Columbus
Day
parade petitioned for both permits. To be fair, the city decided to
leave it
up to chance by holding a lottery for the two permits. The Sons of
Italy New
Generation Lodge was a winner and will hold its parade in the afternoon.
“That is just when we wanted it,” says Pam Wright, daughter of Grand
Lodge
President Joe Ciancio, who, together with New Generation Lodge president
George Vendegnia, spearheaded the Columbus Day parade campaign. They
rallied
support from the Denver Italian American community, local OSIA lodges,
and
the state and national OSIA leadership.
This year’s Columbus Day parade will be only the second held in Denver
since
1991. The first one, in 2000, was marred by demonstrators from the
American
Indian Movement and Hispanic groups who hurled insults at the marchers
along
with rocks, and urine-filled balloons.
Last year, the CSJ collected donations from OSIA grand lodges around
the
nation to help the New Generation Lodge hold an even bigger parade,
which
was canceled due to September 11. “But we are back,” says Wright,
”and
this year’s parade promises to be the biggest one of them all.”
Established in 1905, OSIA has more than 575,000 members and supporters
and a
network of 700 chapters coast to coast. It is the nation’s largest
and
oldest organization for people of Italian descent. OSIA works at the
community, national and international levels to promote the heritage
and
culture of an estimated 24 million Italian Americans, the nation’s
fifth
largest ethnic group according to the U.S. Census Bureau. To learn
more,
visit OSIA on the Web at www.osia.org or contact us by e-mail at
nationaloffice@osia.org.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS -- For Immediate Release
---------------------------------------------------
Press Contact: Diane Crespy
202/547-8115; dcrespy@osia.org
www.osia.org
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