Columbus Citizens Foundation Marks its 71st Year with The Columbus Day Parade, the World's Largest Celebration of Italian-American Culture and Success

NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Monday, October 12, 2015, New York City will celebrate Italian-American heritage with more than 40,000 participants and over one million spectators for New York City's 71st Annual Columbus Day Celebration and Parade. The Parade will run north up Fifth Avenue, from 47th to 72nd Street from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM— led by Grand Marshal Alberto Cribiore. The parade will be broadcast live on WABC-TV beginning at noon, and Maria Bartiromo, renowned broadcast journalist and Actor, Joe Piscopo will serve as Masters of Ceremonies kicking-off the Parade march along Fifth Avenue.

The annual Columbus Day Parade, organized by the Columbus Citizens Foundation and presented this year by the Conair Corporation, is the world's largest celebration of Italian-American heritage and culture. As Grand Marshal, Alberto Cribiore will lead nearly 30 marching bands, over 25 enormous floats and hundreds of performers up Fifth Avenue in a non-stop parade of family entertainment and Italian-American celebration. Il Volo, the critically acclaimed Italian trio, will be leading the performances, fresh off their recently announced worldwide tour. Highlights of additional performers include:

• Brian Newman, renown Jazz musician and frequent performer with Lady Gaga
• Italian Fairy performer Simona Rodano
• The West Point Hellcats
• Italian singer and songwriter, La Sara
• Miss USA Olivia Jordan
• Performer Alyssa Lynn
• The Gazillion Bubble Show
• Nonna Maria of YouTube puppet star fame
• Viginti Millys, musical and dance troupe from Sicily
• Nick Tangorra Band
• Opera impresario Christopher Temporelli
• Chetti, new musical sensation
• The Harlem Globetrotters performing their hilarious antics and amazing basketball skills

The Columbus Day Parade will honor the spirit of fiscal achievement and philanthropy with honorees Guy Chiarello and Aldo Verelli, respectively. Guy Chiarello, the President of First Data Corporation, leads innovation and technology development with an 8,000+ person team that creates solutions for six million businesses and 4,000 financial institutions around the world. Aldo Verelli is a founding member and director of American Community Bank, where he helps advise and oversee the bank's commercial lending practices.  Aldo has been committed to various charitable organizations both locally and abroad, establishing a language scholarship fund in honor of his parents in Ripi, Italy.

All honorees will ride up Fifth Avenue in Maserati cars, noted for their Italian craftsmanship and joining the Columbus Celebration this year as the official mode of transportation along the Parade route.

"The Columbus Citizens Foundation is committed to fostering the growth and strength of our culture, through education and the scholarships we provide for our youth," said Angelo Vivolo, President of the Columbus Citizens Foundation. "The same drive and achievement we champion is exemplified in Alberto Cribiore and we are truly honored to have him leading the Columbus Day Parade."

The Columbus Day Parade dates back to 1929 when New York City businessman and Italian immigrant Generoso Pope led a parade from East Harlem down to Columbus Circle. The parade celebrated Christopher Columbus's explorations and the achievements and contributions of Italian-Americans to the landscape of New York and the United States.

Today, the vibrant parade is made possible by the work of hundreds of volunteers who assemble each year to help the Columbus Citizens Foundation organize, and enlist the assistance of more than 20 city agencies such as the NYPD and the sanitation department that help support the logistics of bringing a safe, successful Parade to New York.

As Vice Chairman of Citi's Institutional Clients Group, Alberto Cribiore holds a leadership role leveraging Citi's global network. For over 40 years, Mr. Cribiore has been a leading force in the financial services industry where he marries his love of Italian culture with his keen business sense for success. 

"I am honored to be named Grand Marshal of the Columbus Day Parade and excited to pay tribute to the achievements of Italian-Americans," said Mr. Cribiore "This historic celebration is one of New York's best representations of Italian cultural contribution, while helping to raise scholarship funds for the new Italian-American generation, and I am thrilled to take part in it."

The Columbus Day Parade will be broadcast on six continents and is viewed by millions of people around the world.

"The Columbus Day Parade is an event that truly speaks to the culture and heritage of New York and we felt it is the type of historical event we should be involved in, said Leandro Rizzuto, CEO, Conair Corporation, one of the Columbus Parade's major sponsors this year. "At Conair, we strongly believe in education. We admire the work the Columbus Citizens Foundation is doing by helping young people succeed with their scholarship program and we wanted to help support this effort."

About the Columbus Citizens Foundation 
The Columbus Citizens Foundation is a non-profit organization in New York City committed to fostering an appreciation of Italian-American heritage and achievement. The Foundation, through a broad range of philanthropic and cultural activities, provides opportunities for advancement to deserving Italian-American students through various scholarship and grant programs. In the coming school year, the Foundation is providing over $2 million in scholarship assistance to over 600 students. In 2013, the Foundation donated $256,000 to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which supports American military personnel and their families, bringing its donations in support of our troops to over $750,000, and it was a lead partner in the reinstatement of the Advanced Placement Program in Italian Language and Culture with a donation of $500,000. The Foundation organizes New York City's annual Columbus Celebration and Columbus Day Parade, which have been held under the auspices of the Foundation since 1944.

Event: Columbus Day Parade 
Location: Fifth Ave. from 47th – 72nd Streets 
Date: Monday, October 12, 2015 
Hours: 11:30 AM – 3:00 PM 
Broadcast: WABC-TV, Noon – 3:00 PM 
Press Contact: Faith Paris, 917.710.2677, [email protected] 

SOURCE Columbus Citizens Foundation