Italian Sudbury Businesspeople Make a Group Donation of a Quarter-Million Dollars to Place des Arts

Today, on this Giving Tuesday, Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury is pleased to announce an exceptionally large donation to the project. Together, a dozen Italian Sudbury families contributed a quarter of a million dollars ($250,000) to the Place des Arts capital fundraising campaign, Share Our Sense of Place.

For lawyer Perry Dellelce, who led the initiative along with businessmen Dario Zulich and Mario Grossi, “This donation reflects a firm commitment to support unifying, forward-looking projects for the Sudbury community as a whole. Music and the arts are at the heart of both Italian and Francophone cultures. It just makes sense that both communities join forces to support Place des Arts. It will be accessible to everyone, all members of the community and cultures. As a group, we are very proud to contribute and be part of Place des Arts. It is our legacy.”

Donors include the following businesspeople, professionals, and their families: Amanda Berloni, the Carniel family, the Centis family, Sue and Perry and the Dellelce family, the DiBrina family, the Gregorini family, the Grossi family, the Palladino family, the Tarini family, and the Zulich family. “Place des Arts will recognize the important cultural heritage of Italian families in Sudbury. It is a great example of one community supporting another,” added Dario Zulich.

“This Sudbury Italian Family Campaign is just getting started. We will continue to reach out to other members of the community to gather further capital support for Place des Arts”, noted Mario Grossi.

For Place des Arts Executive Director Léo Therrien, there is no better way to end 2019. “On this Giving Tuesday, the Board of Directors of Place des Arts and our 150 volunteers join me in thanking the entire group for this exceptional and much appreciated donation. This quarter-million-dollar gift brings us much closer to the goal of our capital campaign. With the possibility of directing donations to equipment purchases or dedicating seats in the performance hall, we are well on our way to reaching our $30 million goal in time for the official opening,” said Mr. Therrien.

Mr. Therrien said that Place des Arts intends to showcase both the rich history and heritage of the Italian families in Sudbury. As such, Place des Arts will proceed with an unveiling later in 2020 related to this significant capital donation. Other donations will be announced in 2020.

Place des Arts is currently under construction in downtown Sudbury, at the corner of Larch and Elgin. The next construction milestone involves erecting the steel structure and insulating it for the winter with a large tarpaulin so that the work can continue inside.

About Place des Arts

Place des Arts will provide Greater Sudbury with Northern Ontario’s first multidisciplinary arts and culture centre. It will house its seven founding arts and culture organizations: the Carrefour francophone de Sudbury (1950), the Centre franco-ontarien de folklore (1960), Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario (1971), Éditions Prise de parole (1973), Concerts La Nuit sur l’étang (1973), Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario (1995) and the Salon du livre du Grand Sudbury (2004).

Place des Arts is supported by major funding providers such as Canadian Heritage, FedNor, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, the City of Greater Sudbury, and many community partners.

About the Italian Heritage

Italy is one of the main countries of origin of many immigrants who settled in Sudbury over a century ago. Italian families came here primarily to work in the mining industry. Today, Italian cultural heritage in Sudbury is vibrant, influential, and valued by the community.