Italian Heritage Day 2021 went ahead with COVID precautions front-of-mind. The traditional Grand Ball was replaced Friday night, October 8th, with a block party on Stockton Street in front of the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club. Grace Ann Cardenas, Queen Isabella 2021, was crowned by Outgoing Queen Isabella 2019 Gina Marie Guglielmoni. The newly crowned Queen Isabella then knighted Christopher Columbus (portrayed for many years by Joseph Cervetto Jr.) “Admiral of the Ocean Seas and Viceroy of the New Lands in the West.” Grand Marshall Graziano Cerchiai accepted a plaque of recognition. Saints Peter and Paul Church and SFIAC were lit up in the Tricolori.
Sunday’s 153rd Italian Heritage Parade—San Francisco’s first major parade since the start of the pandemic—was very well-attended with spectators cheering all the way from Fisherman’s Wharf, up Columbus Avenue, and into North Beach, concluding in front of Saints Peter and Paul Square. There were more than 80 units celebrating Italian heritage and culture, including marching bands, floats, local dignitaries, and the women and men of our military. The festivities also included nearly 20 Ferraris on display in Washington Square Park and along Union Street, and the Blue Angels Navy F-18 jets flyover. To top it all off, the weather was beautiful!
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