Barilla Shares World-Renowned Italian Tenor Andrea Bocelli Performance With NYC Public High School Students

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Barilla, the main sponsor of Andrea Bocelli: Live in Central Park on Thursday, September 15, 2011, is sharing especially reserved tickets to the free performance on Central Park's Great Lawn with high school students from all five boroughs.

"Barilla helps people around the world experience the joys of sharing the table, an integral part of Italian culture," said Guido Barilla, Chairman, Barilla Group, one of the world's most esteemed Italian food companies and main sponsor of the concert. "In this spirit, it is important to us to share this once-in-a-lifetime experience with New York City high school students who could appreciate the authentic Italian experience created by the combination of the food and music."

For the first time in Central Park concert history, Barilla will be the exclusive food provider for concert-goers, creating a cultural and culinary experience inspired by the cuisine of Italy and a unique opportunity for New Yorkers to share the table under the stars during the performance.

The Barilla menu will include grilled Panini sandwiches, summer vegetable lasagne, cold vegetable and legume soup, and more. Food will be available for purchase and 25 percent of proceeds will go The Food Bank of New York City to help New Yorkers in need share the table.

Also taking place in Central Park that week is Casa Barilla, a four-day celebration of authentic Italian food and culture, Sept. 13-16 at Rumsey Playfield. The event allows New Yorkers to taste, learn, cook, play and share during authentic Italian cooking classes, sampling stations, chef workshops and a dedicated play area for children called the Piccolini playground.  For more information about Barilla's Summer of Italy, including Casa Barilla and other events, please visit: www.SharetheTable.com/SummerofItaly

About the Barilla Group

Barilla, originally established in 1877 as a bread and pasta shop in Parma, Italy, ranks as one of today's top Italian food groups. Barilla is a leader in the global pasta business, the pasta sauces business in continental Europe, the bakery products business in Italy and the crispbread business in Scandinavia.

Barilla owns 43 production sites (13 in Italy and 30 outside Italy) and exports to more than 100 countries. Every year, about 2,500,000 tons of food products are featured on dining tables all over the world under the brands of Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Voiello, Pavesi, Alixir, Academia Barilla, Wasa, Harry's (France and Russia), Lieken Urkorn and Golden Toast (Germany), Misko (Greece), Filiz (Turkey) and Yemina and Vesta (Mexico).

Barilla has become one of the world's most esteemed food companies and is recognized globally as a symbol of Italian know-how by upholding its longstanding traditional principles and values, considering employees a fundamental asset and developing leading-edge production systems.

For more information, please visit: www.barillagroup.com and www.BarillaUS.com.

About The New York City Department of Education

The New York City Department of Education is the largest system of public schools in the United States, serving 1.1 million students in nearly 1,700 schools. The Department of Education supports universal access to arts education through the ArtsCount initiative, which tracks and reports student participation in arts education. For more information, visit, www.schools.nyc.gov.

SOURCE Barilla