The National Italian American Foundation celebrated its 33rd annual gala and awards dinner in the International ballroom of the Hilton Washington & Towers on Saturday night. The black-tie event reeled in nearly 3,000 guests, as well as a list of notable Americans of Italian decent, including actress Gina Lollobrigida, Barbara Sinatra, Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito, Yogi Berra, Rudy Giuliani, and Nancy Pelosi.
“The most difficult aspect of planning for us is securing the celebrities,” said NIAF director of communications Elissa Ruffino earlier in the week—a line that rang true when the evening’s headliner, Leonardo DiCaprio, turned out to be a no-show due to illness. His father, George DiCaprio, accepted the Special Achievement Award in Entertainment for his son.
The evening began with a cocktail hour, followed by a three-course dinner by Cuisinart executive chef Fabrizio Bottero and a lengthy lineup of speeches, video presentations, and musical performances. Tabletops featured standard Hilton linens and dinnerware, along with bottles of Italian wine, olive oil, and specialty water, and red rose bouquets by Caruso Florist. Gifts, including a Naples T-shirt packaged in a small pizza box and a refrigerator magnet of Andy Warhol’s painting “Vesuvius,” provided by this year’s region of honor, Campania, could be found on each guest's chair. The gala's 70 celebrities and V.I.P. guests were seated on the stage in three tiers.
Following the dinner, the evening's M.C., comedian Tom Dreeson, led the show with jokes and introductions. Before each honoree's speech, a video of the person's life achievements (produced by MVI Post) could be seen on four large screens throughout the room.
The gala was part of a weekend of activities, including Piazza d’Italia, a two-day exposition offering samples of wine, cheese, gelato, and specialty Italian dishes to the public; a Friday night musical performance by Patrizio Buanne in honor of Frank Sinatra; three conferences about health care, energy, and education and how each relate to Italian Americans; a celebrity auction; and a gala dinner for young adults, which took place concurrent the main event.
With tickets ranging from $400 to $2,500 (for the front row), plus a long list of sponsors, the sold-out event brought in more than $1 million.
