Oct 26, 2012 – On a lovely and relatively mild weathered Friday night, I had the pleasure of attending (for the second time) ILICA’s annual Cultural Event & Gala dinner. When I walked down the entrance of the Lighthouse restaurant, I was greeted warmly by Vincenzo and Susy Marra and then met up with Diana, Chris and several AsianinNY friends and guests.
![ILICA-AsianinNY groupphoto](https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/67155_193153374154407_1151279158_n.jpg)
ILICA-AsianinNY group photo
What a difference one year makes! At this year’s event I was more at ease with myself. I delighted in the Italian appetizers while sipping on champagne and meeting and mingling with guests. I was also challenged to bring my Italian language skills to the table: we were briefly interviewed with NTDTV and I advised Jennifer and Daisy the best I could for their short Italian speeches for the first part of the program. Thankfully, I didn’t have to take the stage.
![Appetizers](https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/320384_193153964154348_1291194752_n.jpg)
one of my favorite finger foods from the night
![Risotto app](https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/66535_193154047487673_1456467323_n.jpg)
fried risotto treats were hard to resist (and I didn't!)
The program was quite impressive and I was both enlightened by the insightful speakers, the performance of a talented child pianist, and also some humorous thank you speeches during the awards segment. I laughed a lot during dinner with Jennifer and Daisy! They were great company and had some awesome stories about their time in Siena and travels throughout Italy. I was envious that they had such a good time together, and their stories roused up fond memories of my own trip from last year.
![clever pianist boy](https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/222565_193155074154237_1709997583_n.jpg)
This cute kid was very musically inclined 🙂
As the night came to a close, everyone got cozy with their desserts and refreshments. The pistacchio
gelato was swoon-worthy and my favorite. Jennifer and I didn’t have to decide on which drink to take as a nightcap, we had both and they were great! Although I’m still not a heavy coffee drinker after coming back from Italy, I relished the cappuccino. Desert was all the more sweeter since all the food was imported from Italy and I felt like I was transported back! As a guest with AsianinNY, I enjoyed myself immensely during the event.
![gelato](https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/643890_193153540821057_1782190000_n.jpg)
Decadent gelato imported from Italy
![ILICA cake cutting](https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/579093_193153050821106_406742960_n.jpg)
ceremonial cutting of the cake
P.S. There were a raffle drawing during the night and raffle participants had a chance to win fine Italian wine, cheese, olive oil, and a huge cut of prosciutto! I was tickled to see Diana and Chris pick up prizes!
![prize ham](https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/531142_193154674154277_1432260733_n.jpg)
Chris, AsianinNY co-founder, goes home with a big smile and an equally large parting present.
(All photographs were taken by Vincent Shihchieh Wei)
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