Montreal Italian organization set to celebrate 100 years with banquet

The regional, cultural, and philanthropic organization L’Associazione Casacalendese di Montreal, or the Casacalenda Association of Montreal, which represents individuals from the town of Casacalenda in Molise, Italy, has been around since 1924.

“A hundred years ago, a group of gentlemen came from our native town of Casacalenda, Molise, Italy, to Montreal and decided they needed a support system. They decided they needed to get together to help others assimilate to life in Montreal. And that’s the basic foundation of the origins of the association,” said Jon Carlo Santangelo, president of the Casacalenda Association of Montreal.

Santangelo says that, with time, they started to collect membership fees and pooled their resources together to be able to help the community.

“It became a mutual aid society, almost philanthropic. Now, we still lean towards philanthropy, but we’re also a cultural organization where we showcase our traditions and culture, sharing that with our members and the city of Montreal, as well as raising money for different initiatives and charitable organizations in the city,” he said.

This Saturday, they will be celebrating 100 years with an anniversary banquet.

Over 700 people are expected to attend the banquet, marking the largest attendance in their history.

“Our initial venue was reserved for 350 people, and we thought it would be enough. Fortunately or unfortunately, 48 hours later we had sold 490 tickets, so we had to quickly find a new venue for 500 people. Two days later, we had outsold that venue as well, and needed a larger space for roughly 800 people. However, we decided to cap it at 700 people because it became a little overwhelming for our members and committee to organize as a whole,” said Michele Iasenza, Vice-President of the Casacalenda Association of Montreal.

For those fortunate enough to get a ticket, they can expect a live band, a photo booth, lots of food, and some fun little surprises along the way.

“I think it’s important you get in touch, it’s important to know where you come from, what your family’s been to, and not only your family, other families in the community that you came from or that your heritage comes from,” expressed Santangelo.

“We live in a very diverse city, and it’s beautiful to see cultural organizations from all walks of life promote their traditions and heritage. That’s why I think it’s so important.”

After 100 years, Santangelo says they are still going strong.

“The reason why we’re so strong is the hard work and dedication of the committee members, the subcommittee members, and all of the members in general. We have people on our committee,” he said.

“We’re just getting bigger and bigger. It says a lot about the community here. It means that they want to participate, they want to be part of something bigger than we actually thought it was. And to continue this 100-year tradition that was started by a small group of men so many years ago. So, for us, it’s very exciting times ahead, and we’re looking forward to the future,” said Iasenza.