The people behind Place des Arts received an early Christmas present this week, with news several families of Italian origin in Greater Sudbury are collectively giving $250,000 toward construction costs.
Led by lawyer Perry Dellelce, along with Sudbury Wolves owner Dario Zulich and Mario Grossi of Technica Mining, donors include: Amanda Berloni, the Carniel family, the Centis family, Sue and Perry and the Dellelce family, the DiBrina family, the Gregorini family, the Grossi family, the Palladino family, the Tarini family and the Zulich family.
Today, on this Giving Tuesday, Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury is pleased to announce an exceptionally large donation to the project, said a press release.
Together, a dozen Italian Sudbury families contributed a quarter of a million dollars ($250,000) to the Place des Arts capital fundraising campaign, Share Our Sense of Place.
“This donation reflects a firm commitment to support unifying, forward-looking projects for the Sudbury community as a whole,” Dellelce is quoted as saying in the release. “Music and the arts are at the heart of both Italian and Francophone cultures. It just makes sense that both communities join forces to support Place des Arts.
“It will be accessible to everyone, all members of the community and cultures. As a group, we are very proud to contribute and be part of Place des Arts. It is our legacy.”
The $30 million Place des Arts is currently under construction in downtown Sudbury, at the corner of Larch and Elgin streets. The next construction milestone involves erecting the steel structure and insulating it for the winter with a large tarpaulin so that the work can continue inside.
“Place des Arts will recognize the important cultural heritage of Italian families in Sudbury,” Zulich says in the release. “It is a great example of one community supporting another.”
“This Sudbury Italian Family Campaign is just getting started,” Grossi said. “We will continue to reach out to other members of the community to gather further capital support for Place des Arts.”
Place des Arts executive director Léo Therrien said in the release that there is no better way to end 2019.
“On this Giving Tuesday, the board of directors of Place des Arts and our 150 volunteers join me in thanking the entire group for this exceptional and much appreciated donation,” Therrien says in the release. “This quarter-million-dollar gift brings us much closer to the goal of our capital campaign. With the possibility of directing donations to equipment purchases or dedicating seats in the performance hall, we are well on our way to reaching our $30 million goal in time for the official opening.”
Place des Arts intends to showcase both the rich history and heritage of the Italian families in Sudbury, Therrien said, and will hold a special event to honour the donation in 2020.
Place des Arts will provide Greater Sudbury with Northern Ontario’s first multidisciplinary arts and culture centre. It will house its seven founding arts and culture organizations: the Carrefour francophone de Sudbury (1950), the Centre franco-ontarien de folklore (1960), Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario (1971), Éditions Prise de parole (1973), Concerts La Nuit sur l’étang (1973), Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario (1995) and the Salon du livre du Grand Sudbury (2004).
“Italy is one of the main countries of origin of many immigrants who settled in Sudbury more than a century ago,” the release said. “Italian families came here primarily to work in the mining industry. Today, Italian cultural heritage in Sudbury is vibrant, influential, and valued by the community.”
