This year, the Fernie Museum will be celebrating Christmas Italian style.
In conjunction with their exhibit, “The Rise and Fall of Emilio Picariello”, the Museum will be hosting “Buon Natale – A Celebration of Italian Christmas Traditions” on Dec. 8, as the last event in the fall programming.
The evening will feature live musical entertainment from Rosanna Anselmo, Mike Bruschetta and the Catholic Church choir, authentic Italian Christmas treats provided by local bakers and special presentations about various Italian traditions. There will be an opportunity to taste a sample of Italian baking treats, for a small fee, but also to order the specialty treats to take home.
Tombola, a game of chance similar to Bingo, will be played throughout the evening and the museum main floor will feature a Fernie Nativity scene. This will be a more “local” Nativity, based on the Neapolitan tradition of adding ordinary and domestic characters and objects to the traditional manger setting. The evening will also feature a visit from La Befana, the magical old lady who traditionally visits Italian children with gifts on Epiphany.
The museum is using Buon Natale to also showcase the start of a new ongoing program. The Community Memory Project will collect and showcase memories and stories from the Fernie Italian community. This program is an effort to record Fernie’s history in relation to the earliest peoples to settle in the area. The program will follow with other ethnic communities.
The project will be led by Dr. Adriana Davies, the curator of the Picariello exhibit, with the help of museum archives assistant Cory Dvorak.
The museum Christmas event will start at 7 p.m. and in lieu of an entry fee guests are asked to bring a food donation for the Salvation Army Food Bank.
The Museum will also be holding a Vintage Christmas Ornament Workshop on Dec. 5, to get children and adults alike in the holiday spirit. Create beautiful seasonal keepsakes, including silver and gold pasta snowflakes and paper angels. The Workshop will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Museum, and all supplies will be provided.
