Little Italy is proud to be a part of the Arkansas State Archives event: Arkansas's Italian Foodways.
The event is schedule for Saturday, September 16.
The symposium's theme, Fruit of the Vine: Arkansas's Italian Communities and Foodways, will feature presentations by Chris Dorer, Dr. Rebecca Howard, Regina Moyer and State Archives staff member Terra Titsworth.
Topics will include Little Italy, Arkansas: A Bootlegger's Oasis; Aren't Grits Just Polenta?: Italians in the Ozarks; and Sunnyside: Italian Tradition from Past to Present. The day will conclude with a cooking demonstration by professionally trained chef, Terra Titsworth, who will be preparing cannoli.
The seminar is $12 and registration is required. Check-in will begin at 9:15 a.m. Teachers can earn up to four professional development hours through attendance. An Arkansas Italian fare lunch will be prepared by chefs from UA - Pulaski Tech Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute and a wine tasting will be provided for symposium participants. Deadline for registration will be Sept. 11.
http://archives.arkansas.gov/outreach/news-and-events/details.aspx?NewsID=3280
April 20, 2016 - Not long after Little Italy was settled in central Arkansas, the community became a Prohibition-era oasis for winemakers and consumers. At Legacies & Lunch on Wednesday, May 4, from noon-1 p.m. in the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) Main Library's Darragh Center, 100 Rock St., Chris Dorer will discuss his book, Images of America: Little Italy, and his research on the area's history.
Little Italy, a community in central Arkansas, was settled in 1915 by Italian immigrants. Little Italy's natural resources, population of skilled winemakers, and tolerant lawmakers contributed to the area's reputation during the Prohibition for producing clean alcohol during a time when many people died due to poisonous alcohol sold by amateur distillers. Dorer is a history teacher and chair of the history department at Central High School in Little Rock. Copies of Images of America: Little Italy will be available for purchase, and Dorer will sign copies after his talk.
Legacies & Lunch, the Butler Center's monthly lecture series, is free, open to the public, and sponsored in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided. For more information, call 501-918-3033.
The 2013 Vines that Bind Ramble tour of enduring historic communities in the Arkansas River Valley concluded with a spaghetti dinner provided by St. Francis of Assisi Church and talk by Chris Dorer, author of "Boy the Stories I could tell", a narrative history of the Italians of Little Italy.
Telling a story in pictures is Little Italy, the newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series. The book by local author Chris Dorer was released on August 17, 2015. The book boasts 200 vintage images, many of which have never been published, and showcases memories of days gone by.
Chris Dorer compiled this book in recognition of Little Italy’s 100th anniversary as a community. Its images offer a glimpse at everyday life in the early-20th century. For more information and how to order, click here.