The evening will continue with a presentation by Sergio Rotellini of Polisportiva Paganica Rugby (Abruzzo) and Professor Giuseppe Leporace Italian Studies University of Washington. Dick and Sharon Friel will host a short auction and the evening will culminate in performances of famous Italian arias by
Public Opera with Gino Lucchetti, Barbara Smith Jones, Eric Molgard and Victoria Chaussee (www.publicopera.org), festive song by local musicians and a DJ set of rare Italian singles by Wo-Pop DJ Darek Mazzone of KEXP.

Renowned Seattle artist and Abruzzo native Iole Allessandrini will be showing her photographs Solidarity and Resilience from a recent trip to her hometown where she witnessed the results of the earthquake first hand. These images inspired the title, "Solidarity and Resilience," as they are evidence of loss and work already in action by people from all over the world who strive for this region's return to normality and complete reconstruction.

This tragic earthquake hit 6.3 on the Richter scale and devastated the Abruzzo region of Italy on April 6th 2009 @ 3:25AM, taking close to 300 lives, hospitalizing over 25,000 and displacing more than 60,000. The L'Aquila earthquake is the deadliest earthquake to occur in Italy since 1984

Proceeds will be given directly to: Polisportiva Paganica Rugby and used to help rebuild the sports and recreation facility lost in the devastated town of Paganica, the epicenter of the earthquake. Currently, hundreds of displaced youth in Paganica and neighboring communities have no organized sports or facilities because of the destruction resulting from the earthquake.

Photos and Video of the Devastation:
Caffe Vita's Mike McConnell, Brendan McGill and Francesco Angiuli of Via Tribunali recently returned from Paganica, where they saw first hand the devastating aftermath of this earthquake. The trio brought back photos and video to illustrate the destruction that resulted from the April 6 earthquake. Those images can be viewed at: www.bignightforabruzzo.com

Major Sponsors Include: Caffe Vita, Dinerware, Ferrari of Seattle, Gravity Payment, Peroni, Rosella Fruit & Produce CO., Stoneway Concrete, Vi Wines, Vio Vi Juice of Blood Orange, and Finamore Lemonchello.