BR Columbus Day festival canceled

• By STEVEN WARD
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Oct 10, 2008 - Page: 1B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Fans of downtown Baton Rouge festivals will have to find another way to celebrate Columbus Day on Sunday.

The Columbus Day Italian Festa, which began in 2006, has been canceled this year by event organizers to allow city-parish officials time to continue with the recovery efforts after Hurricane Gustav, festival co-chairman Nicki Dimaio said Thursday.

“The city helps us financially with the festival, gives us the services of DPW workers with set up and clean up, and the city provides police department security,” Dimaio said.

Because workers have been working overtime to clean up after the storm, festival organizers decided to cancel the event this year as a gesture to the city-parish.

“Rather than do it half way, we just decided not to do it at all this year,” Dimaio said.

Some vendors used by festival organizers for the event were also affected by Gustav, Dimaio said.

Dimaio said Mayor-President Kip Holden understood the reasons behind the decision and is 100 percent behind them.

Holden said Thursday he appreciates the festival’s position but was saddened the festival would not occur on Sunday.

Holden said city-parish officials and festival organizers plan to make the festival one of the biggest of its kind in the region and the nation.

“This will allow us more planning for an even bigger celebration next year,” Holden said.

Hurricane Gustav was not the only reason for cancelling the event this year.

Dimaio said the September death of 56-year-old Baton Rouge restaurateur Samuel “Sammy” D’Agostino Sr. also played a role in the group’s decision. Cancelling the event was also a way to show respect for D’Agostino, who has been active with the festival, and his family.

D’Agostino, who died on Sept 16 of cancer, owned and operated two restaurants — Samuel’s in the Industriplex Boulevard area and D’Agostino’s on Third Street.