Little Italy Festa 2008 Sunday, October 12, 2008: This is the entertainment line-up from the 14th Annual Little Italy Festa held on Sunday, October 12, 2008! Nick Stellino grew up in Palermo, on the island of Sicily, and came to the United States in 1975. In 1991, he decided to leave his lucrative career as a Wall Street stockbroker in order to follow his dream of becoming a chef. He started his culinary career as a dishwasher. Over time, he apprenticed with the best chefs in America. "I was in heaven working at working my way through the restaurant line," says Nick Stellino. "But I wanted to share my enthusiasm for Italian cooking with more people. I decided a cooking show was the answer." Employing the energy, dedication and entrepreneurial vision that had taken him from Palermo to Wall Street, Nick began calling television production companies. His efforts culminated in the highly successful series Cucina Amore I, II, and III, Nick Stellino's Family Kitchen I, II, III, IV and V, and the PBS specials, Nick Stellino's Dinner Party and Nick Stellino: Food, Love & Family. Stellino Productions Inc. is currently working on his latest Cookbook and companion Television series which will air on the Public Television Network later this year. Nick has published many cookbooks and has partnered with major publishing companies including Putnam and Doubleday. In 2006 Nick celebrateq the launch of his seventh cookbook titled "Dine In," which is the companion to his PBS television show, Nick Stellino's Family Kitchen. His other titles, which can be purchased at major retailers such as Barnes and Noble Online and Amazon.com, include: Cucina Amore Nick Stellino's Glorious Italian Cooking Nick Stellino's Mediterranean Flavors Nick Stellino's Family Kitchen Nick Stellino's Passione; Pasta, Pizza, and Panini Mangiamo! Let's Eat! Dine in! Nick makes numerous appearances at popular food festivals around the United States, including Boston Cooks, Philadelphia's The Book and The Cook, Seattle's Festa Italiana and the Aspen Food & Wine Festival. He was Grand Marshal of San Francisco's 1999 Columbus Day Parade, the first time in 130 years that a chef had been accorded that honor. In May 2000 and 2001, Nick Stellino appeared as a presenter at the prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards held in New York. He is also one of the few chefs who have been selected to cook at the Grand Gala Dinner for the James Beard Awards for three years in a row. In addition to running his Marketing and Production Company( Stellino Productions Inc.) , Nick is a sought-after motivational speaker with a prestigious list of national clients, including. Domino Sugar, Maurice Lacroix, Sears, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, BJ's Wholesale Club and The Kimpton Hotels. see: premierespeakers.com/nick_stellino Nick Stellino has been a featured guest on numerous national shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Today, CBS This Morning and Good Morning America. He has been featured in national publications including TV Guide, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Magazine of La Cucina Italiana, Bon Appetit, In Sync, Home Magazine, Watchtime and Primo. He spends his time traveling in the USA and abroad sharing his passion for food and life. "I believe that the family table is our last tribal meeting ground, where we all sit together and share our stories surrounded by great food, great wine, our family and friends." "A family that eats together stays together!" Nick has been married for 25 years to his lovely wife Nanci Nick Has just completed filming his brand new television series: Nick Stellino Cooking with Friends" featuring 10 of the top chefs in the nation like, Laurent Manrique from Aqua in San Francisco, Michael Cimarusti form Providence in Los Angeles and Walter Pisano from Tulio in Seattle. The series will starts airing nationally on the PBS network starting in Fall 2008 and all through 2009. Visit nick website: www.nickstellino.com NovaMenco/ Mediterranean Music This family of musicians with their modern flamenco style fuses together Jazz, Pop, and ancient Byzantine echoes of Istanbul to Sevilla, Lisbon to Rome forming a unique Flamenco Jazz Music. With their flamenco guitars flourishing on stage, NovaMenco craft an eclectic mix of tunes harboring a growing reputation for a crowd-pleasing show. Ever since NovaMenco's debut album landed in the 1998 billboard charts, NovaMenco has continued the innovations in Modern flamenco. Their unique fusion of flamenco Jazz music has enchanted audiences everywhere. Every CD of The music of NovaMenco is a real life experience and travels around the world. The music of NovaMenco is an attention-getting production with melodies said to evoke an air of distant Mediterranean lands with rhythms that exude feelings of liberation from this earthly existence. " Music Design Review." Put on your dancing shoes and be prepared to enjoy yet another lively Tour of Italy show presented by the nationally-acclaimed Italian folkloristic troupe, Roman Holiday (www.romanholidaymusic.com). This colorfully-costumed troupe of musicians and dancers will bring the music and dance of Bella Italia to the Festa's Date Street Stage with a wide repertoire of the most beloved of Italian melodies and dances. Roman Holiday encourages audience participation, so come prepared to join the tarantella circle and the conga lines! Or just kick back and enjoy the fun and beautiful music. This ensemble has gained world-wide recognition with the success of their CD, The Italian Wedding, and appears at festivals and corporate events across the nation. They were recently named Best Ethnic Band in San Diego Magazine's Annual BEST OF issue. Read about Roman Holiday's romantic beginnings in the San Diego Union Tribune's Night & Day supplement published on September 4, 2008. Performing for the Festa is like being with "famiglia," as the Roman Holiday Ensemble has a close and significant history with the San Diego Little Italy Festa. They were the only performers back in 1994, on a small stage surrounded by a few booths, when the Festa was born. They never missed one year of entertainment and are now proud to proclaim that they have been with the Festa for fourteen years straight….watching it grow from a small street fair to the largest Italian Festival west of the Rockies! So continue with the tradition and stop by the Date Street Stage from 1:00-2:30 pm and become a part of the rich history of Italian entertainment in San Diego! Daniele Spadavecchia was born and raised in Italy. He began playing guitar at the age of 16 in local bands. After High School graduation he took music as a career, studying with accomplished guitar and voice teachers. He performed for many years touring Italy with traditional and modern dance orchestras, blues and rock bands and also accompanying a comedian. After a trip to Spain, he became interested in the art of gypsy music such as flamenco and swing manouche. In 2002, he left Italy for New Orleans where he lived until hurricane Katrina hit, playing and studying the style of Django Reihardt with Tony Green and Gypsy Jazz. With his own band Sicilian Swing he brought a mix of Italian and American crooner music. While living in Arizona, he played rumba flamenco with local band Del Soul and Sol Gitana continuing to play gypsy jazz and Italian music. Daniele performed for many events such as New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 2005, French Quarter Festival, Festa Italiana in Washington DC, Festivale Siciliano in San Diego, TV (WWL Channel 4, FOX, NBC) and Radio shows (WWOZ), clubs, restaurants, corporate and private events, concerts, churches, cruises, even Italian gondolas! Check on www.dsjazz.com to find out his local performances. India Street Stage at Date Street Time Performance Type of Music 10:00 - 11:00 Daniel Spadavechhia Italian music 11:30 - 12:30 Mas Grande Italian, Euro Jazz and Latin 12:30 - 1:00   Announcement of Italian Queens 1:00 - 2:30 Roman Holiday Italian folk music 3:00 - 4:00 Nova Menco Mediterranean music, Spanish flamenco guitar 4:30 - 6:00 Mar Dels Popular standards from the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's Grape and India Street Stage Time Performance Type of Music 10:00 - 11:00 SD Small Opera Italian Opera 11:15 - 12:15 Guy Rallo Italian Favorites 12:45 - 1:45 Nova Menco Mediterranean music, Spanish flamenco guitar 2:15 - 3:15 Daniel Spadavechhia Italian Music 3:45 - 4:30 Mas Grande Guitar 4:45 - 6:00 David Patrone Big Band Greats Nick Stellino will be doing cooking demonstrations on the corner of India & Cedar Streets at 1:00pm and 2:00pm. All day performances by: Gilbert Gauthier, Frank Sinatra impersonator and Pietro Rizzi, Italian opera Click here to download schedule.