FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Elissa Ruffino, 202-939-3106, elissa@niaf.org

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WHEN:               

Friday, October 16, 2015

9:30 p.m. Joe Piscopo and Friends Celebrating Frank Sinatra’s 100^th Birthday

Saturday, October 17, 2015

5:30- 6:30 p.m. Reception; 7 p.m. Dinner and Awards

WHERE:             

The Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel

2660 Woodley Road NW, Washington, D.C.

Celebrities and entertainment take center stage during the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) 40^th Anniversary Gala Awards Weekend to celebrate a milestone at its new venue at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. As part of NIAF’s lineup of celebrities, actors Danny Aiello, Chazz Palminteri and Annabella Sciorra; singer and songwriter Giada Valenti; performer Tom Sinatra; Twelve-time MLB All-Star Mike Piazza; The Washington Chorus; The Sicilian Tenors, Aaron Caruso, Elio Scaccio and Sam Vitale, will join Il Volo tenors Piero Barone and Ignazio Boscetto, and baritone Gianluca Ginoble, as part of the weekend performances.

NIAF Board member and Emmy Award-winning Fox News Anchor and Global Markets Editor Maria Bartiromo and SNL legend, NIAF Celebrity Ambassador, actor, entertainer and radio host Joe Piscopo, will co-host one of the most popular black-tie galas in our nation’s capital.

The 2015 Gala honorees include:

Amato L. Berardi, founder of Berardi & Associates Inc., and former member of the Italian Parliament, who will receive the NIAF 40^th Anniversary Award for Leadership and Service

Richard E. Caruso, Ph.D., founder and director of Integra Life Sciences, who will receive the NIAF Special Achievement Award in Business and Health

Connie Francis, Italian American musical legend, who will be inducted into the Italian American Hall of Fame

Mario Gabelli, founder, chairman and CEO of GAMCO Investors Inc., who will receive the NIAF 40^th Anniversary Award for Leadership and Service

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., who will receive the NIAF Special Achievement Award in International Business

Franco Nuschese, president of Georgetown Entertainment Group LLC, who will receive the NIAF 40^th Anniversary Award for Leadership and Service

Steve Perillo, president and owner of Perillo Tours, who will receive the NIAF Special Achievement Award in Business

Alfred M. Rotondaro, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and former NIAF Executive Director, who will receive the Italian American Community Leadership Award

Josephine J. (Gargiulo) Templeton, M.D., trustee of the John Templeton Foundation, who will receive the NIAF Special Achievement Award in Philanthropy.

To open the weekend festivities on Friday evening, October 16, NIAF will host a celebration of Frank Sinatra’s 100^th birthday in the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Ballroom. Beginning at 9:30 p.m., the evening will include live entertainment by Joe Piscopo, and special celebrity guests, dancing, an open bar, and special auction items.

After the Gala dinner, guests will join celebrities and honorees at the Foundation’s famed After Hours Party at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

Tickets to Saturday’s black-tie Gala begin at $400 per person, and young professional tickets at $200 per person available only by phone. Tickets to Friday evening’s celebration of Frank Sinatra’s 100^th birthday cost $200 per person. Proceeds benefit NIAF’s educational programs. For tickets or sponsor information, contact Jerry Jones at 202-387-0600 or jerry@niaf.org, or register online at https://www.niaf.org/40.

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the heritage and culture of Americans of Italian descent. Visit www.niaf.org.