First Orange County Italian Cultural Association poetry contest.

On Sunday May 1st, the Orange County Italian Cultural Association held its first annual poetry contest, and in honor of Mother's Day, the theme of the contest was "la mamma". Four winners were selected from the entries and a ceremony was held in their honor.

The poetry entries were required to be in Italian and ranged from haikus to sonnets. Many entries were provided by college students from around Orange County. Chapman University and Cal State University at Long Beach provided two winners from their Italian departments. Giada Lo, a Chapman University student was given an honorable mention, and William Peightal, from CSULB, took third prize. Renato Gasparetti won second place with a prize of $300; his son Lorenzo Gasparetti, accepted the award on his behalf. First place, a $500 prize, was awarded to Sergio Guarro.

The ceremony took place at Larissa Morais' art studio in the Circle of Old Towne Orange. The atmosphere was as Italian as it could get, live entertainment, a wine selection, and an Italian apperitivo were provided. The wine tasting was provided by Casa Torelli wine products and the food was catered by local Italian eateries. "Francoli's gourmet of Orange", behind which the art studio is located, catered along with "Il Fornaio", located in Irvine, "Quattro Café", "Canaletto—of Newport Beach", "Mangia Mangia", "Il Barone" and "Fresh Produce". All these local eateries and companies brought a unique and delicious flare to the ceremony.

The spread included Italian pastries, prosciutto e melone, caponata and caprese salad. Guests enjoyed the food that was catered both outside and inside while the provided music perfectly complemented the environment. Guests mingled with fellow Italians and Italian-Americans. Soon after dining, local Italian singer Gino Gaudio opened the awards ceremony by singing the Italian and American anthems. Paolo Miliozzi, Presi-dent of OCICA, commenced by showing a short clip from one of Roberto Benigni's readings of Dante's Divina Commedia. After the opening, Mr. Miliozzi proceeded to announce the winners.

The winners then had the opportunity to read their poems to the guests, and were given certification of their victory along with a printed form of his or her poem. Gino Gaudio closed the evening by singing a few lovely operatic pieces - including the Italian classic "O Sole Mio"— and Andrea Bocelli's "Con Te Partirò."
The event was the first poetry contest that OCICA put on and, due to its success, the association will continue to organize more cultural events of this kind in the future.

By Chapman University's Italian 343 students: Katherine Ascani, Nicole Broch, Colin Camisasca, Lo Giada, Maria Mansilla, Ariel D'Amelio, Lacey Venanzi, Elizabeth Whitten