Sons
of Italy to Hold Columbus Day Parade in Denver
Press Contact: Diane Crespy, 202/547-8115 dcrespy@osia.org
For Immediate Release:
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 cancelled 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 longest-established 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.
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