Come celebrate Italy’s cultural and culinary influence on America at one of the largest and most beautiful outdoor festivals on Long Island. Hofstra University will host the 26th Annual Italian Experience Festival on Sunday, September 16, from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. The festival will take place outdoors, rain or shine, on the South Campus of the University.
The Italian Experience Festival is a popular tradition that features a full itinerary of crafts, live entertainment, children’s activities and food. New this year to the festival’s entertainment lineup are singer and actress Francesca Capetta; Mickela Mallozzi from the Emmy Award-winning program Bare Feet and Italian singer and actor Ciro Acampora.
Francesca Capetta has appeared in some of New York City’s major venues and recently made her Carnegie Hall debut in the sold-out solo show Francesca Capetta Sings Dean Martin. She has been spotlighted in Broadway’s Rising Stars at Town Hall and earlier this season Francesca premiered her solo show Broadway and Jazz in Italy. She will be performing the leading role of Maria Montessori in the new musical La Dottoressa at Lincoln Center.
Mickela Mallozzi is the daughter of Italian immigrant parents from Minturno (Lazio region). She plays classical and jazz piano, violin and flute and trained at both the Stamford City Ballet School and Center Stage Dance Studio. She attended New York University for Music Composition, spending two summers abroad with the NYU Florence Program and in Rome as an AIAE Programma Ponte scholarship recipient.
She created the Bare Feet project in 2010 to express her fascination for travel, folk dance and music. Her Bare Feet Blog, documents her dance adventures around the world. This evolved into the Emmy® Award-winning TV series on public television nationwide, Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi.
The Festival emcee is Cav. Josephine A. Maietta, president of the Association of Italian American Educators and radio host of Sabato Italiano.
Festival admission is $6 and $5 for senior citizens. Children under 12 are admitted free. Hofstra students, faculty and staff are admitted free upon presentation of a current Hofstra Card. For more information about the festival call 516-463-6582 or visit hofstra.edu/festivals.
