DALLAS – The tenth anniversary of the Columbus Day Parade and Italian Festival was celebrated in Dallas, Texas, last Sunday, on a beautiful, warm day with 35 degrees of temperature. Various groups participated in the parade, from the Civil Air Patrol to the Italian Air Force Representation of Sheppard Whicita Falls, to the Knights of Columbus, the Skyline Band, with the horses and riders of the Texas Horse Park and River Ranch, of the Fortebella Equestrian, with former “Miss Texas” Andrea Fox and the Texas Rangers Cheerleaders.
After the presentation by the Master of Ceremonies Jay Lombardo, the National Anthems performed by Gabriella Fresquez and the blessing of the ceremony by Chris Knight, the event moved on to the proclamation of the Grand Marshal Columbus Day Parade in Dallas 2024, Oscar Renda, and the Senate resolution (in the pic below) signed by Tan Parker encouraging participants to be proud of their Italian heritage and complimenting the organisers.
Among the local representatives of the Italian community, Antonio Iocchi and Alessandro Pauri were also present, the Italian honorary consul in Dallas, Richard Gussoni, and the Consul General of Italy in Houston, Mauro Lorenzini, who – after having appreciated the work of the Chairman of the event, Vincenzo Arcobelli and the organizers – wanted to highlight “the importance of Columbus Day as a symbol of Italian identity”.
“Today we celebrate the Italian-American community in recognizing their great contribution made in Texas and in the United States. Despite many difficulties we achieved the goal of preserving Columbus Day in Dallas. I thank the collaborators, volunteers, sponsors and supporters, the authorities present and all the participants”, said Vincenzo Arcobelli.
Following, the musicians of the Emeral City Band Allstars orchestra and the singer Pino Marelli, who came from Detroit for the occasion, performed: the participants particularly appreciated the exhibition of Italian cars (Ferrari, Fiat and Maserati) and the delicacies offered by the Italian restaurateurs present at the event.