Each year a unique attraction at the Warren Italian American Festival is the Culture display in a tent in front of the Courthouse. Inside the tent, the Italian flag is displayed in the center and the flags from the 20 regions are around the perimeter of the tent. Each year different themes are used. This year, there are displays of Venice and Carnevale with masks made by Italian students at Boardman High School, in Boardman, OH. Rome and its sites and the leaning tower of Pisa are other cities visited. Two other topics are soccer with symbols of the most famous soccer teams in Italy and the history of folk dancing including the Tarantella.
Some of the projects made by the students include a Ceppo, an Italian Christmas decoration made in the shape of a pyramid with four shelves: a pineapple on top representing hospitality, fruits and nuts representing the gifts of God, presents which are gifts of man and a Nativity Scene on the bottom. Another student made a miniature bocce court while still another made a calendar of the saints’ days. Two junior high students from JFK High School in Warren, OH created a project about Italian immigrants in the Mahoning Valley. During the four-day event, there are projects children can create in the tent including mask-making led by Roseanne Dando, co-chairman of the Culture Committee. Mary Ann Napolitan Keifer, Italian teacher at Boardman High School, creates the display and serves as the other co-chair.