2024-2025 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
WINE TASTING: FAMOUS WINES OF ITALY - MEMBERS ONLY
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 - 5-7 PM
Total Wine & More in Pelican Plaza
8280 South Tamiami Trail
Cost - $40
Join your SICE friends for a tasting of fine Italian wines.
Enjoy a presentation about some of the most well-known wine varietals of Italy:
Proscecco, Pinot Grigio, Nero d’Avola, Montepulciano,
Chianti Classico, Brunello, Amarone and Barolo.
As you sample each wine, you will learn about the grapes and
other important factors that go into the production of these wines.
Light bites will be served including a platter of deli meats, cheeses and crackers.
Limited to 52 participants…so register early!
A SICILIAN DINNER AT CAFÉ AMICI
1371 Main Street – Downtown Sarasota
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 – 5-8 PM
$98 Member - $112 Guest - Cash Bar
Come, dine with us and enjoy a delicious Sicilian dinner.
Massimo and Achille Nigri, our hosts, will serve these Sicilian specialties:
Antipasti – Caponata and Arancini
Primo Piatto - Pasta alla Norma
Secondi Piatti - Pesce Spada alla Griglia or Braciole Messinesi
Dolci - Mini Cannoli and Cassata
Complimentary Ben Rye Moscato from Joe and Brenda
Limited to 60 participants…so register early!
WEDNESDAY FILM EVENTS AT LAKEWOOD RANCH CINEMA
SICILIAN MASTERPIECES
Discussions led by Joe and Brenda Morra
Doors open at 10 AM - Film starts at 10:30 AM
Cost for each film: $25 Member - $30 Guest
Lunch will be available following each film’s screening at Cassariano’s Italian Eatery.
Price-fixed menus to be announced.
January 22, 2025
February 19, 2025
March 19, 2025
“IL Postino” is an Academy Award winning romantic comedy
in which Mario, a bumbling mailman, falls in love with the most beautiful woman in town.
With the help of poet, Pablo Nerudo, the postman finds the right words to win his love.
Shotgun weddings, kidnapping, attempted murder and emergency dental work
abound in “Seduced and Abandoned” as Don Vincenzo tries to restore
his family’s honor. A series of escalating comedic calamaties ensue in a small Sicilian village
when 16 year-old Agnese loses her viginity at the hands of her sister’s fiancé.
“Sedotto e Abbandonato” skewers Sicilian social customs
and pompous patriarchies with a sly, devilish grin.
“The Sicilian Girl” is the true story of 17 year old Rita Atria
who took it upon herself to avenge the gangland assassinations of her father and brother
by breaking the Code of Silence (Omerta) and testifying against La Cosa Nostra.
La Ragazza Siciliana navigates the thin line between
justice and revenge. She puts her life on the line as she chooses
the dangerous and lonely side of law and order.
OPERA EVENT: CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA AND MORE
Wednesday, February 5, 2025 – 10 AM - 12 PM
Sarasota Opera House - $30 Member - $35 Guest
This popular event begins in the Courtyard with sfogliatelle, Sicilian desserts and coffee
followed by a presentation in which Marco Nistico, Artistic Administrator for Sarasota Opera
and a former baritone, will discuss an often-forgotten component of the opera,
the librettist, and his impact on Pietro Mascagni, the composer of Cavalleria Rusticana.
Marco will also entertain us with some interesting Sicilian phrases.
As usual, this event will conclude with selections by the Sarasota Opera singers!
LECTURE: SICILY - ANCIENT AND BAROQUE
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Selby Library - 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
$25 Member - $30 Guest
This season’s lecture, presented by Rosanne Martorella, PhD, will begin with
an historical introduction to Sicily, which over the centuries, has been inhabited
by diverse peoples: Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Arabic, Spanish and French.
Photographs and videos of Ancient and Baroque sites
will highlight Sicily’s long and complex legacy.
ANNUAL END-OF-YEAR LUNCHEON
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 - 12:00 – 3:00 PM
Maestrale Restaurant
7515 South Tamiami Trail
$50 Member - $65 Guest
Come and join your friends at SICE’s annual end-of-year luncheon!
Enjoy a delicious four-course meal at Maestrale’s, a family-owned
restaurant highlighting the authentic cuisine of Puglia.
Dad is the chef along with Mom in the kitchen, and their two sons are waiters.
The menu will include: salad, Pinsa Margherita and Pinsa Barevecchia with
sausage, mozzarella and broccoli rabe, entree choices of
Chicken Carciofi with piccata sauce and artichokes OR
Orecchiette with vegetables OR Lasagna OR Eggplant Parmigiana
followed by a dessert of Cannoli OR Tiramisu.
This dining experience will be unique!
Limited to 60 participants…so register early!
For further information, see our Website: https://SICESRQ.com