I think the RCSC is doing a sucky job at advertising the upcoming Italian Festival to be held at the Sun Dial Rec Center on March 11th & 12th! https://suncityaz.org/events/the-first-italian-festival-in-sun-city/ The best place to purchase your advanced tickets, if you're an RCSC Member, to get the best discount and to avoid the extra service charges is to do so at Sun Dial where they sell the tickets to the indoor concerts!
Agree FYI! I almost ordered via the website but when the $3.50 service fee appeared, I didn't finalize it and dropped in to Sundial Office and sure enough, they don't charge the fee. That info should have been included on all promo materials. Surprisingly at Sundial, the posters they had there had a little typed label stuck on that said "Avoid Ticket Service Fees/Pre-purchase with cash or check at the Events Office at Sundial M_F 8am-4pm" Big help once you're already there!
I got screwed! Shortly after I purchased our tickets we got the RCSC email that told you how to avoid the service charge. I just think that if they want this to be a big success they need better advertising especially if they're hoping to attract people from the surrounding communities!
The Italian Association of Arizona is bringing the first Italian Festival to Sun City March 11 and 12 with food and non-food vendors, and live entertainment at the Sun Dial Recreation Center. Direct from Italy: Sbandieratori del Palio diAsti (flag-wavers fromAsti) Performing both Saturday & Sunday
Yes, a couple of years back and my only gripe was the admission charge which was $15 and then the expensive food once you got in. I wouldn't bother going again unless I intended to stay for lots of entertainment which I didn't have time for last time. This time in SC bec. of the reduced rate I am trying again and intend to see as many demos and shows as possible to make up for last time I wanted to see a schedule to compare Sat. and Sun. but our office didn't have anything and when I emailed the organizers they said it would up on site by Wed., but still not there. People need to know what they are paying for before they pay for it. Shame on them for not having that organized better!
The Italian Association looks to the public to host these festivals that ultimately support their organization’s goals: Arts & Culture The Italian Association was founded on the premise of promoting Italian Arts & Culture. Our vision is to be able to gather in time the necessary financial resources to create an Italian Cultural Center with services and support for the Italian people the community at large. We hope one day that Arizona will be the home to an area in the valley dedicated to its very own version of Little Italy. Businesses and Services The Italian association has partnered with or works directly with local organizations established to assist local and international businesses to import and export their products and services. A key focal point of the annual Italian festival is the international marketplace where starting in 2022 Italian products will be on display for all attendees. https://www.italianassociation.org/ (They’ve offered these festivals for years! Had one at Heritage Park in Phoenix last weekend! It’s the first, and maybe last, one in Sun City?)
Just drove by Sundial, and lots of temp fencing has been installed (remember during Covid shutdown), I guess for controls to make sure you paid admission. I wonder who pays for this security, and just how RCSC profits from this.
Good questions to raise at Monday’s Exchange, March 13, 2023, 9 am, Sundial auditorium. Or, email the board: BoardofDirectors@suncityaz.org Goes to all board members RCSC 2023 Board Kat Fimmel President kfimmel@suncityaz.org Karen McAdam Vice President kmcadam@suncityaz.org Jean Totten Secretary jtotten@suncityaz.org John Fast Treasurer jfast@suncityaz.org Steve Collins Director scollins@suncityaz.org Denny Nichols Director dnichols@suncityaz.org John Nowakowski Director jnowakowski@suncityaz.org
Well, I'm just glad to see something other than yet another tribute band--something culturally interesting with a variety of learning possibilities, and scheduled during a large chunk of time to make it available for people with varied schedules, but would think an event like this should be free for RCSC members like Sunbowl concerts are, even if one concert had to be dropped to make an event like this possible.
Lots of confusing & conflicting info from RCSC & the Italian Association. “and scheduled during a large chunk of time to make it available for people with varied schedules” Italian Association site: Saturday and Sunday, March 11 & 12, 2023 SATURDAY 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM SUNDAY 11:00 AM - 5:30 PM RCSC Promotions Saturday, March 11 from 11am-8pm & Sunday, March 12 from 11am-5:30pm Festival Entertainment Direct from Italy Sbandieratori del Palio diAsti (flag-wavers fromAsti) Performing both Saturday & Sunday Cory Pesaturo - D-Gala PhoenicianTenors Steve Ansel & The Jackson StreetBand The Sicilian Band And there’s this…from RCSC, how’s this going to work? Sunday, March 12 at 4pm: Hi-Fi All Star Dance Band at Sundial Auditorium in conjunction with Italian Festival. Do NOT bring lawn chairs, blanket, coolers, etc. Free concert entry allowed after 3pm.Festival vendors will be onsite selling food, wine, etc. Ticket sales advance and day of event pricing changed often! Few knew to avoid the online surcharge by going directly to Sundial. Italian site notice says children under 12 are FREE! Mixed messaging, ugh!
I got a reply from the Italian fest site folks--seems they have been having problems with the site, but they sent me this schedule which doesn't include the cooking demos, but it's something! Dang it, won't let me drop or upload it--that's a real prob with this site! Will type it out for you: Saturday, March 11: 11o DJ 12: Cory Pesaturo 12:45 Opening ceremonies 1:00 Sbandieratori del palio di asti 1:30Angelo Torchia 2:15 Steve Ansel and Jackson St. Band 3:30 DJ 4: D-Gala Opera 5:00 Sbandireatori del palio di asti 5:30 Cory Pesaturo 6:00 The Silician Band 7:00 Thank you Sunday 11:00 Cory Pesaturo: accordion 11:45 Sbandireatori del palio di asti 12:15 welcome 12:30 Antonio Maliotto 1:00 Angelo Torchia 1:45 Sicilian Band 2:45 Steve Ansel and Jackson St. Band 4:00 Sbandireatori del palio di asti 4:30 D-Gala 5:30 Thank you
Nice work scj. Clearly Sunday's crossover will be curious to see how it works. One of the things Sun City West has been doing more of is selling tickets to events. I suspect some of that is about costs but also so they have an idea on how to limit the crowds to manageable levels. I lament the inability to post anything except by cutting and pasting. So much we could be sharing with simple downloads.
Since the information for the Italian American Festival was non existent, plus the admission fee, no advertisement for the food vendors or menus associated with such vendors, we chose not to attend. Makes one wonder if that could be the case for others?
Well it was quite a day and seemed to be successful. Sundial auditorium was usually full and the atrium had plenty of people milling about. Was glad to see some of our own SC clubs there and hopefully with a different than usual clientele they made some good sales. The D-Gala operatic music was exceptional as was Sbandireratori del Palio di Asti with the talented acrobatic flag waving young men. The Mi Amore wood fired pizza was an excellent Napoli style and the father and his daughters who worked so well together made it especially pleasant. There was a traditional singer outside who was singing his heart out and was very good, but deserved a better location so one could sit and appreciate it. Maybe there can be other ethnic festivals in the future!
Agreed, those two events alone were worth the price of admission. I certainly hope it was a successful event for the association so that they return again next year, but then again, I'm prejudice! Hopefully, it will be better advertised and promoted!
And even more hopefully not to be on a Sunday when they have to bump the Sun Bowl show. Members are pissed so any good will done with the event has been flushed down the drain.
What do you mean about the Sun Bowl show being bumped and members being pissed? I was there as people were starting to be let in early for the Sun Bowl show and they were thrilled to have more than usual food choices, esp. the addition of liquor, and some entertainment going on before the scheduled Sun Bowl (moved to Sundial) show.
The schedule did not come out in time and when it did it was not informative. Each of the performances should have had some description beside it. Unless you know Italian, you'd have no idea that the Sbandieratori del Palio di Asti were the flag wavers, or that Di-Gala were the Phoenician Tenors, or what Angelo Torchia does, etc. There was no listing at all for the performances in the breezeway yet I caught one by chance by a man singing soulful Italian songs (he deserved a better place--not opposite the busy pizza maker). What particularly ticked me off with the schedule was that they completely changed the line-up for the festival on Sunday! I came with people expecting to see the opera singers and the flag wavers that I raved about, but both of them performed earlier than the 4:00 and 4:30 listed on the schedule I picked up on Sat. RCSC should have sent out a schedule change notice as soon as they knew it was going to happen! And there's no way that the Sunday price should have been the same as the Saturday price since there were fewer performances. When I asked at ticket office when I bought my ticket, I was told the festival would be like the one they had downtown so I checked the website to see what that had and there were loads of cooking demos, yet we didn't even have one, so that was disappointing. I hope a follow-up survey is sent to attendees either by the Italian Association or RCSC. Despite its flaws, it was a big undertaking and I have to credit RCSC for attempting something far more ambitious than usual and actually bringing a cultural event in rather than the regular entertainment type of event, and I do hope the SC clubs that had sales tables out were able to benefit too.
Simple answer scj, members love their outdoor performances under the stars. Indoors is a fraction in attendance; 1000 compared to 4000 or 5000 (or more). The bigger issue was this was the 4th or 5th Sun Bowl show cancelled in a row. We lost 2 or 3 at the end of last season (due to being pissy with the POSSE) and the first two this year. That said, everyone i talked to really enjoyed the Italian Festival. Given it's success along with some bumps in the road, i think it will be back next year even bigger and better. For those unfamiliar with our history, Meeker/DEVCO ran traditional quarterly community celebrations year after year. He understood it brought the community together. Long after build-out, the RCSC continued those gatherings with individual events featuring each rec center. I don't recall if it was the pandemic that killed them or apathy by the various parties involved. The reality is if a "sense of community" doesn't matter, why bother? The Sun Bowl is a venue that sets us apart from nearly every other age restricted community. Land is too valuable to be dedicated to free concerts, for most. That's my concern as those having so little understanding of our history look at the venue and start to try and monetize it. Back while on the board, when they brought in some really good tribute bands, they were hanging from the rafters, sitting in the parking lots, down the backside of the hill and out in the medians. It was nuts and wonderful all at the same time. We had some preliminary talks about how to update/upgrade the venue. Tragically, almost anything too aggressive will cost us our grandfathered status which impacts parking codes and the number of available bathroom stalls. Theresa has added porta-potty's but those are really just band aids. I've always felt the Sun Bowl was under-utilized, but rather than a 40 million dollar MV, i'd rather see the stuff needing be fixed at MV (pool, mini-golf, P-ball courts and an outdoor spa) and try and figure out how to get the max out of the Sun Bowl. Dare i say portable roof? Don't hold your breath, it sounds like the long range planning committee is more focused on making Lakeview the premier go-to location in Sun City...like it was in 1970 when it opened.
