Federation of Italian-American Societies of Western New York

10/21/2026

10/19/2026

It took us all day yesterday to recover from the amazing time we had at the Italian Heritage Gala honoring Federation member and Chairman of the Board, the Hon. Frank Caruso. 💚🤍❤️

Formal pictures will be posted soon. In the meantime if you have any pictures please tag us in a post or email them to us.

Special thank you to our gala chair Teresa Marcello. Her countless hours putting this event together do not go unnoticed, we appreciate you Teresa and couldn't pull this off without you!

Thank you to Frank Sparacino and Danette Porto for their hard work putting together another amazing ad book. It gets bigger and better every year.

Very special thank you to all those who joined us Saturday night to celebrate, took out an ad, volunteered to help setup, or sponsored a portion of the event.

Mark your calendars next year the gala will Saturday October 16th. Honoree to be announced early 2027.

Congratulations again to the Hon. Frank Caruso!!! 🇮🇹

10/17/2026

Do you know the mission of the Federation of Italian American Societies of WNY?

The mission of the Federation of Italian American Societies of Western New York is to promote understanding and appreciation of the Italian culture. We strive to highlight the contributions and achievements of local Italian Americans and actively support all civic, educational, and cultural events of our community.

If your Italian American organization or group has an event you would like us to share please send it to [email protected]. Let us know if you would like us to share on social media and/or email distribution. Our support goes beyond FIASWNY sponsored events.

Visit our website at fiaswny.org

Send a message to learn more

10/12/2026

Happy Columbus Day!!!! 🇮🇹

10/11/2026

Wonderful mass at St . Anthony's this morning. Grazie to all who joined us for mass, our wreath laying at our beloved statue of Christopher Columbus and reception at Cabrini Hall. 💚🤍❤️

Grazie mille to our mass and reception committee. Teresa Marcello Danette Porto and Danielle Salasavage

Viva Columbus and Viva Italia

We hope you all continue to enjoy Italian Heritage month. Many more events still to come! 🇮🇹

10/11/2026

Another day in Italian Heritage Month, another Italian Federation event!!!

Join us today for our annual Columbus Day mass 11:15am @ St Anthony’s, followed by our wreath laying and refreshments.

Happy Columbus Weekend! 🇮🇹

10/11/2026

The 22nd annual Italian Heritage Parade & Motorcade is officially in the books! 🇮🇹
Thank you simply isn't enough to express our gratitude for the incredible community spirit that took over Hertel Ave today.

To everyone who came out to march, walk, cruise in classic cars, build floats, drive the floats and even roll through in a sleigh you brought the energy and pride that make this parade so special.
And to everyone who lined the sidewalks waiving flags and cheering: WE SAW YOU, WE HEARD YOU and we appreciate your support more than words can say!!

A few special highlights and recognitions from today's celebration:

✨ Special Appearances: Santa and La Befana were an absolute hit as always, and having Columbus join them made for an unforgettable trio!

🏆 Honoree & Grand Marshal: A huge congratulations to our 2026 Grand Marshal, Hon. Frank Caruso! Thank you for your leadership and dedication to our heritage.

🤝 Community & Civic Support: We extend our sincere thanks to Legislator John Bargnesi and Common Council President Joel Feroleto for your continued, steadfast support of Western New York’s Italian-American community.

🎶 Marchers & Units: Special gratitude to our dear friend Luciana and her Canisius students for proudly carrying our regional flags, the Mount St. Mary Marching Band, Formula Band, the CBP Honor Guard, the Erie County Sheriff’s Mounted Division, the Buffalo Fire Department (BFD), and the Buffalo Police Department (BPD) for keeping us safe and celebrating alongside us.

A heartfelt thank you to our generous sponsors who made both the parade and the after-party possible:
Chef’s Restaurant

Buffalo Italian Heritage Festival

Joe & Joey Fiorella

Big Timers Club

Centro Culturale Italiano di Buffalo

Last but certainly not least, bravo to our hard-working parade committee for the endless hours behind the scenes to pull this together seamlessly.

Grazie mille a tutti—see you next year on Hertel! 🇮🇹✨

10/10/2026

Happy Italian American Heritage Parade Day!! 🇮🇹

We can't wait to see everyone on Hertel Ave today at 1pm. 💚🤍❤️