I'm Giada Valenti an Italian singer and songwriter from Venice Italy. In my blog you will find everything Italian, music, food, fashion and more. But you will also find everything about the USA and its lifestyle and read about my adventures in this wonderful country and more about my music and life!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Standing together for the Alzheimer in City Island: a great night!
Dear friends and readers,
Funny how spring seems to be gone among the seasons. It looks like we go nowadays from winter cold to summer hot.
I remember when I was a child that we had a few months where we had spring weather: we were wearing spring's jackets and spring's clothes. Now it looks like we go from winter ‘s jackets to summer’s tops.
Oh well you don’t hear me complain about that, since I really love the warm weather, so the sooner it gets here the best for me. But I feel a bit worry for Planet Earth. I know the weather has changed because of the pollution and the Ozone Hole, so I’m a bit scared to see that we really start to see those changes for real! I wonder what will be next!!
Central Park in the Spring
View of The Ocean's Building ; I lived there for 3 years!!
I know everybody start to be more concerned about it and aware of it and that some changes start to have shapes so I hope we won’t have to worry about what’s next. We leave in such a beautiful planed and I think we should be more careful in taking care of it!! I can wait for the day that we will only have electric’s cars, that day will great a great one not only for the cleaner air but also for the wallet: so we can break free from those crazy gasoline prizes we are imposed to pay nowadays.
Spring in NYC
I’m very confident we will be able to conserve our beautiful planet and we will be able to enjoy the Spring's season forever. i just love Spring!!
Spring in Holland
While I was enjoying this wonderful Spring with summer’s weather in NYC last week I also had a very intense week. I had the great chance to be part of some great Benefit events, always such a wonderful feeling for me.
One of them was a benefit for the Alzheimer. I was asked to perform a few songs for a Benefit Concert for the Alzheimer organized by Dr. Luigi Miele. The Party took place in City Island a beautiful island north of New York. The place was packed with first generation Italians, so Italian was the main language spoken that night. It was wonderful to hear about the money they had raised to help the family of people suffering this horrible disease and also some money for the research. Hopefully one day they will find the cure for this degenerating disease.
Going to City Island
The event was organized by Dr. Luigi Miele. Dr. Miele is a very nice quiet man who’s doing a wonderful job for the Italian community. I meet Dr. Miele thanks to my music. Dr. Miele is also a very popular DJ’s of WVOX 1460 AM Radio, where he host already for years a very popular radio show "Italian Melodies with Dr.Luigi Miele" every Saturday Sat from 12pm - 1pm. He’s being playing my music already for years so it was nice to get to meet at the Benefit event many of his listeners who knew me only through his radio show.
Dr. Miele is very quiet and reserved. He never really told me that for instance he was part of a very famous scene in the Godfather. In the wedding scene he was the bandleader, the guy singing with the dark suit!! I found a clip on your tube for you to see. So funny to him here!
The water view of City Island
The Marina
The event was very well attended and took place in one of the big catering hall of City island. City Island is a small island community, 1½ miles long and ½ mile at widest point, at the northeast edge of New York City surrounded by the Long Island Sound and Eastchester Bay. City Island has a rich nautical history and it has being for year a nice place for me to escape for a day in the summer. Originally inhabited by the Sinanoy Indians, City Island was established as an English settlement in 1685. The island became an important shipbuilding and yachting center during the 18th and 19th centuries and on through the mid-20th century. It was incorporated as part of New York City in 1896. Today the presence of yacht clubs, sailing schools, and marinas, fishing boats and marine supplies and repair shops reflect City Island’s role as a very nice nautical community.
A beautiful City Island's home
City Island is a precious jewel within New York City, with a very distinct feel of a New England fishing town. It is an eclectic mix of sailors and fisherman, doctors and lawyers, artists and actors, families and young singles that make up a population of about 4500 people. I’ve been told that people born on the island are known as “clam diggers”, long-term residents are “mussel-suckers”. The design of the homes vary from grand frame Victorians and Colonials, modest Cape Cods and cottages, to conventional and contemporary brick. Some of those houses are so beautiful with magnificent water view. There are numerous restaurants, yacht clubs, galleries, antique shops, marine sales and repairs, and one lone Bed and Breakfast that you can’t miss.
The Ferry to Hart Island: spooky!
There are also numerous films, television shows, and commercials have been filmed on City Island. Just to mention a few films that you may know are from the past “Butterfield 8” starring Elizabeth Taylor, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” with Katharine Hepburn, and more recent are “Awakenings” with Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, “Love is all There is” with Angelina Jolie and A Bronx Tale with Robert De Niro and Chazz Palminteri, which featured the City Island Bridge and one scene which was filmed in the parking lot of Johnny's Reef Restaurant. Michael Douglas filmed “Don’t Say a Word” at the Hart Island Ferry and Hart Island. Hart Island is the location of a 101-acre potter's field for New York City where more than 800,000 dead are buried there -- approximately 2,000 a year. Very surreal place to visit!!
The is also a very recent film titled “City Island” starring Andy García and Julianna Margulies, that is set on City Island and also was shot there. The film won the Audience Favorite Award at the 2009 Tribeca Film festival.
The Club House
City island is close to Manhattan and so different: in only 15 minutes you are far from the city chaos and suddenly among fishermen, boats, marinas. Just nice to enjoy here a day while eating fish on an outside restaurant or a coffee while watching the boats passing by! It is a very nice place for people that love to spend a day near the water, like I do. I really love this place so it was nice to get drive there and enjoy the view even if briefly. I’m looking forward to get there for a whole day soon.
City Island's view
So this was another wonderful memory I loved to share with you of my NYC life. I’m blessed with my voice and talent and I was so honored to be able to help Dr. Miele with wonderful event!! It was also a very nice night that I got to spend in company of my dear friend Maria Traina Gallina that was my driver for the night and I had the pleasure to meet so many new friends. So it was a fun night with a very great meaning : that to help each other and other is a very powerful thing!!
Stay tuned for my next week BLOG…maybe it’s time to share some nice Italian memories of my last trip to Venice and some of my favorites recipes too!!
Good thing about the electrical cars. But they must produce sound. If not it means that visually disabled people can no longer go outside on the street without company. Cars without sound makes them deaf too. Because they are focussed on sound. That is my worry.
Good thing about the electrical cars. But they must produce sound. If not it means that visually disabled people can no longer go outside on the street without company.
ReplyDeleteCars without sound makes them deaf too. Because they are focussed on sound.
That is my worry.
Dear Susi,
ReplyDeleteSure the elettric cars will make noise or we are in trouble!!
I'm sure they will think about this before they produced them for the mass!!
But can you image how clean the air will be?
I'm already breathing better only by imagine it!!
Thank you for reading the BLOG!!
Love,
Giada