By Tom Cesarini
As we welcome the new year, it’s time to invoke Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings and look forward to 2022 with renewed hope and optimism. All of us at Convivio are already hard at work in planning our events calendar to bring you more quality arts and culture programs and to continue to foster a welcoming and inspiring space at Amici House. In the coming months, you can look forward to more music events, the return of Films al Fresco (our outdoor classic-film series), a new historical-photographs exhibit, and some unique special events to bring our community together!
Caffè Caritàzza is brewin’ up some new goodies!
Stop by Little Italy’s only nonprofit coffee bar this month for some amazing Italian regional specialty drinks! Our caffè setting at Amici House is the perfect spot to unwind, get some work done (yes, free WiFi is available), and enjoy your favorite warm beverage. (Or try a cold one—after all, this is San Diego!) And when you visit, you’ll be supporting our work in the community to boot!
Shoebox Day | January 8 | 10 AM – 2 PM
We’re hosting another Shoebox Day, a day when you can help to preserve your Italian roots by submitting your photos and documents to our digital archives. We will digitize your images and documents for inclusion in the Italian Archives of San Diego, our digital repository of Italian-community artifacts. Join us for a FREE cup of signature coffee from our caffè, share stories with us, and help to perpetuate the Italian historical narrative of San Diego. Not Italian and no images to contribute? Stop by just the same to learn about the Italians in San Diego, tell us your own family history, and have some complimentary coffee with us!
Pizza in the Park | January 20 | 5 PM – 8 PM
Let’s kick off the new year with another crowd-pleasing Pizza in the Park fundraiser! Revel in the Neapolitan artistry of Giuseppe Monaco of Cucina Caprese and enjoy some delectable, wood-fired oven pizzas made to or-der! Proceeds help to fund our work in the community.
Tokens of Love | January and February
As a nonprofit raising funds for arts and culture, Convivio also supports a community partner and neighbor, Washington Elementary School Foundation. This month we are launching our Tokens of Love campaign through our coffee bar, and you can help us to help the kids! When you visit, simply donate $2 and drop a token in the fund box at the bar. We will contribute the fund value to the kids while you can take a second token for a free coffee on your next visit! Let’s start the year by cultivating a giving spirit and helping those in need.
To learn more about Convivio and our many programs or Little Italy history, please visit www.conviviosociety.org or call 888-862-4825.
— Tom Cesarini is the chief leadership officer and founder of Convivio and also serves as the Italian Honorary Consul in San Diego. Convivio provides advocates, donors, and volunteers the organizational capacity to ad-vance Italian cultural identity, preserve Italian cultural-heritage assets, cultivate community and fellowship, and foster multicultural awareness through the humanities. Visit: www.conviviosociety.org | Follow: @conviviosociety
