Chamber hosting Festa Italiana April 24

Italian cuisine and entertainment will highlight a returning Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce-sponsored event later this month.

Festa Italiana is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 24, at the Liberty Theater, 113 S. Main St. This year, the event's theme is "Italian Bronx: A Taste and Feel of New York Bronx." Guests at the event will be able to enjoy an authentic Italian dinner, and musical entertainment from Kansas City singer Rudy Amato and his three-piece band. The Liberty Theater will be decorated in an Italian theme to add to the evening's atmosphere.

"It's kind of a mobster or gangster theme," FSACC Downtown Division Chairwoman Cheryl Adamson said. "It will be a great evening to get out, walk the streets downtown, listen to great music and have a great meal."

Festa Italiana returned last year after the 2007 event was canceled. Proceeds from the event are used to fund various improvement projects, additions and enhancements to the downtown area. This year, organizers plan to use some of the proceeds from the event to purchase equipment, including new microphones and speakers, for the sound system used in the Friday night summer concert series at the Heritage Park Pavilion near the corner of First and Main streets. The concert series is sponsored by the FSACC Downtown Division.

Funding has also been used for other past downtown projects, including new lighting, signs, decorations and several others. Proceeds from last year's event are being used to help implement a wireless Internet network using Wireless Fidelity technology, or Wi-Fi, for several businesses downtown. The project, which would allow laptop users to stop into a business and get access to the Internet via a wireless connection, is currently a work in progress, Adamson said.

The menu for the evening includes cheese manicotti with pasta sauce, meat tortellini with alfredo sauce, Italian sausage and meatballs, salad, and cannolis for dessert. A cash bar will

also be available. Several local residents plan to volunteer their services as "celebrity" waiters during the event. Volunteers will be dressed in period clothing to help set the Italian atmosphere, Adamson said.

Amato, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., currently performs shows in Kansas City and other major cities across the Midwest. In 2007, Amato performed with the Moonlight Serenade Orchestra at the Liberty Theater, and later returned to perform last summer during the Mercy Health Center Gala. Many of his shows are charitable performances for organizations in the Kansas City area. He has also sang The Star Spangled Banner at Arrowhead Stadium as part of the Kansas City Chiefs pre-game show.

Following the event's Italian theme, Amato will perform songs from the "Golden Age" Big Band musical era that includes songs from such artists as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Bobby Darrin, Al Jolson and Louie Armstrong.

Organizers hope to sell 200 tickets to this year's event, Adamson said.

Doors to the theater will open at 6 p.m., with dinner scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the event, which cost $20 each, are available by contacting the chamber at (620) 223-3566, or at the door the evening of the event.