Latest news with #Cirillo
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
St. Ann's Italian Festa in Raritan returns for 116th running with pizza fritte and more
Volunteer Joe Cirillo spent years shepherding the efforts to revive the beloved St. Ann's Italian Festa in Raritan Borough − before he even had the opportunity to attend one. Due to COVID-19 and financial difficulties, the principal fundraiser for St. Ann Church and accompanying St. Ann Classical Academy was in purgatory for five years. But thanks to Cirillo and his fellow 100 volunteers' efforts, the festival in the primarily Italian borough returned last year − and it was worth every bite. 'On the first night of last year's Festa I said to Pastor Tom Odorizzi, 'Did you ever think we would make it to this point?' ' Cirillo recalled. 'We had so many obstacles we had to overcome. But it was everything that I thought it would be and more. That meatball sandwich never tasted so good.' Cirillo and the 2,000 people who attend the Festa each day are in for plenty more meatball sandwiches, pizza fritte, breaded eggplant, and sausage and peppers when the free-admission event returns for the 116th time. It runs from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, June 19, to Saturday, June 21, at 40 2nd Ave. This time, it isn't going anywhere. 'As far as I'm concerned, we are taking this as long as we can go,' Cirillo said. 'The goal was never to bring it back for just one year. This is the 116th and we want to get to 1,016th.' That's possible now that the Festa has new fridges, a new sauce vat and new grills, and machinery maintenance has been completed. An additional pizza fritte fryer was also recently purchased, which will speed up long lines for the fried, doughy delight. This year Festa attendees will also enjoy an additional 150 seats where they can chow down on the volunteer-made Italian fare that the Festa is known for. The Festa will also return to its roots this running for the first time in years when the procession of Saint Rocco, a statue inside the church and the patron saint of the Festa, takes place on opening night. Following a 3 p.m. mass at St. Ann Church on Thursday, June 19, the procession of the statue will begin at 4 p.m. and parade through the school and convent before its placed in a shrine around 5 p.m. Prayer cards will be set up so people can make donations. Almost all towns in Italy have a patron saint, and celebrations including food and entertainment are held on a patron saint's feast day. Saint Rocco is a common patron saint for various Italian towns since, as the patron saint of contagious diseases, he healed countless people from the Black Plague when he visited Italy during that era. Raritan news: The first cat cafe is opening in Somerset County. Here are the details So, when Raritan became a popular settlement for Italian immigrants, it was only natural that the patron saint became the one many borough residents shared no matter where in Italy they were from – Saint Rocco. However, one more piece of the pie is still needed. Since the Festa is labor-intensive, volunteers are needed for tasks such as setting up equipment, breaking down equipment, and stretching pizza fritte dough. Those interested can contact Cirillo at 201-724-7997 or sign up at People can also purchase $1,000 tent sponsorships by contacting Cirillo. Each sponsor is represented by a sign on one of the food tents, which can display business names, memorial messages and more. More: Dave Portnoy reviewed a Somerset County landmark pizzeria. Here's what he said Last year, the Festa raised $50,000 for the school and church, which was 'desperately needed,' Cirillo said. 'As long as people support the Festa, it's going to continue, so we're looking for new people to step up and volunteer, especially for leadership roles,' Cirillo continued. 'At some point our committee members are going to retire, so when that happens we need people willing to continue the tradition into the future.' Go: 5 to 10 June 19, through Saturday, June 21; 40 2nd Ave., Raritan; Contact 201-724-7997 to vounteer or donate, or sign up at Contact: JIntersimone@ Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, although she's a lifetime Jersey girl who considers herself an expert in everything from the Jersey Shore to the Garden State's buzzing downtowns. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. You can also follow her on Instagram at @seejennaeat and on Twitter at @JIntersimone. This article originally appeared on St. Ann's Italian Festa in Raritan NJ returns in June
ABC News
26-04-2025
- General
- ABC News
Preserving Australia's oldest commercial grape vines in winemaking Barossa Valley
As one of the earliest vintages on record wraps up in South Australia's Barossa Valley, hand-pickers head to an unusual patch of grapevines for a harvest like no other. "I mean this is the moment… and it's kind of exciting and it's kind of scary all at the same time," vineyard owner Marco Cirillo said. What's remarkable about the fresh crop is it's coming off vines believed to have been planted in 1848. "You're looking at the longest continuously producing grenache vineyard in the world, so it's highly important," Mr Cirillo said. "If the old world had them, they would be singing it from the rooftops, but they don't … we do." Twisted and thick with age, these ancient vines are still yielding fruit after generations of care. ( ABC Landline: Kerry Staight ) How Australia kept its oldest vines alive Although Australia is considered a "new-world" winemaking country, it's actually home to many of the oldest commercial vines in the world. "It's a pretty simple equation really," Mr Cirillo said. "We haven't had world wars … bombs and tanks don't do very well for vineyards throughout the years. "And then obviously phylloxera, the tiny microbe that eats the roots of the vines, literally wiped out all European vineyards at one point." Hand-picking grapes from the old vines takes care. ( ABC: Carl Saville ) Keeping the precious vines in production requires significant dedication, especially at pruning time, when they are woven together like a basket to stop them from collapsing. "We have trunks of up to 20 centimetres in thickness, but there would only be veins as thick as your finger alive inside of that … the rest of it's all dead wood, so they are quite frail," he said. Ancestor vines nearly lost to history The Barossa Valley is home to 150 hectares of vines more than a century old, and another 80 hectares that are even older. These are known as ancestor vines, and they date back more than 125 years. One of the stand-out ancestor vines is at Turkey Flat Vineyards, which has been owned by Christie Schulz's family for five generations. These grapes from the Turkey Flat Vineyards are believed to have been planted between 1843 and 1847. ( ABC Landline: Kerry Staight ) Planted between 1843 and 1847, it's one of the oldest commercial shiraz vineyards in the world, making it almost 200 years old. But back in the 1980s, it was almost ripped up when the state government introduced a vine pull scheme, paying growers to remove unproductive vines. By resisting a vine pull scheme, Christie Schulz helped preserve one of the world's oldest shiraz vineyards. ( ABC: Carl Saville ) "It was really quite a catastrophic time in the wine industry; there was just no market for grapes," Ms Schulz said. "And my then father-in-law was looking to retire, and it was very attractive to take the vine pull. " But I could see that we were going to lose this amazing history, so we just thought it was worth giving it a go. " While Ms Schulz likens the vines' fragility to "fine china", they've also never been irrigated and have survived everything nature has thrown at them over the decades. Last season was one of the toughest tests. "The drought is just mind-blowing. It's the worst I've ever seen," Ms Schulz said. "But they're still growing … most things would turn up their toes and give up." Scientists turn to the vines for answers The story behind these surviving vines has now attracted the attention of scientist Anthony Borneman. He's taken DNA samples from 50 vineyards across Australia that were planted before 1900, hoping to uncover a history with many gaps. This carefully planted vineyard brings together cuttings from some of the oldest vines across the Barossa Valley. ( ABC: Carl Saville ) "We can use genetic relationships to work out which vines were related to each other, how they're related, and maybe see how things were passed around the country 150 years ago," he said. The 12-month study by The Australian Wine Research Institute is also comparing the genetics of old and new commercial vines. The aim is to preserve and potentially clone the rare and robust plants with roots spanning three centuries. "A lot of these genetics may well have been lost elsewhere … so it may well be that we're helping to expand the genetic pool for these varieties," Mr Borneman said. Anthony Borneman hopes DNA samples from historic vineyards will reveal the hidden ancestry of Australia's oldest vines. ( ABC Landline: Kerry Staight ) No-one is more enthusiastic about the Barossa's old vines and the increasing value they bring to the bottle than John Geber who owns the historic Chateau Tanunda Winery, established in the region in 1890. "I'm tasting history in a glass. I'm tasting something you can't get anywhere else in the world," Mr Geber said. "You're drinking the 100-year-old shiraz, so you're just under $200 [a bottle], and then the 1858, the oldest field blend that we know of and that's $500 a bottle." John Geber calls it "tasting history in a glass" and believes Australia's old vines deserve global recognition. ( ABC Landline: Kerry Staight ) After spending two decades restoring his 1890s winery, Mr Geber is now raising the profile of the local vines that go back even further. He's joined a European-based group called Francs de Pied, which is working towards certifying wines made from free-standing or ungrafted vines. The group is also applying to UNESCO to have some old vineyards heritage-listed. "This has been part of our industry for 200 years. Somebody has to protect it and there's momentum building," Mr Geber said. "They're not good because they're old, they are old because they're very, very good." Watch ABC TV's Landline at 12:30pm on Sunday or on . ABC Rural RoundUp newsletter Stories from farms and country towns across Australia, delivered each Friday. Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Tough Long Island biz owner saves truck by driving it away from wildfire — while it's in flames
A tough Long Island business owner drove one of his trucks — while it was on fire — to save it from the wildfires that raged through the Hamptons over the weekend. Mark Cirillo, 64, battled to save AutoGate Systems Inc., his business of the last 20 years, as flames closed in on his shop in Westhampton Beach on Saturday and eventually burned down a shed he used to store wood and building materials, damaged projects for clients and melted part of a truck. 'When I was getting the vehicles out, the last one was on fire,' Cirillo told The Post on Sunday. 'It was hairy! The smoke was so thick that you couldn't see. It was so hot, it was burning my hands on the steering wheel.' Chilling video footage of the fire taken by Cirillo captured bright orange and red flames fanning out behind a building belonging to his automatic-gate business. In the clip, Cirillo can be heard crying out, 'My God! My whole place! F–k!' as the blaze and thick gray clouds of smoke spread behind his building. Cirillo said the blaze was so hot and powerful, it 'burned my hat and blew it off my head.' But Cirillo said he was lucky things weren't much worse. 'I was fortunate. I was able to move the vehicles out of the way,' he said. 'Just as quick as the fire came up, it blew over us and went across the street. 'Every fire department on Long Island was here. It was something to see,' he said. Officials said at least 90 agencies, including fire departments and EMS units, responded to the four blazes that broke out Saturday around 1 p.m. in Center Moriches, East Moriches, Eastport and Westhampton. 'The Apache helicopters were dropping 500-gallon buckets of water right here,' Cirillo said. 'All I can say is, you know what prayer does,' Cirillo said, pointing to the building that remained standing after the fires. 'We were so lucky. I never saw so many brush trucks! There were 50 or 60 of them. You saw 10-wheelers full of guys coming up the Sunrise Highway.' Cirillo said crews came from Islip Mount Sinai to 'save the buildings.' On top of losing one building, Cirillo also had big plastic bins holding metal building materials that completely melted into liquid, and trucks that had been moved out of the building had blistered paint and melted light lens covers on them. Additional large wooden gates Cirillo's company produced for a client were still smouldering Sunday morning.
