Italian Canadian Festival raises funds for Tracy's Dream charity (6 photos)

Primavera Banquet Hall held its 8th annual Italian Canadian Festival Saturday, bringing folks of all ages to Roberta Bondar Pavilion for a day of live entertainment - and of course, Italian food. 

Lorena Scanga says her mother Ada, owner of Primavera Banquet Hall, wanted to give back to the Sault by donating all ticket sales from the event to a different charity each year. 

“Now that she’s in a comfortable position with the hall, she decided that it was time to give back to the community,” Scanga said. 

This year, all money generated from ticket sales for the Italian Canadian Festival will go toward the Tracy’s Dream charity, which raises money to help cancer patients with hospital parking costs. 

“When she heard that this was what their goal was, she jumped on board right away,” Scanga said of her mother. 

Tracy’s Dream was launched by Tracy Dinelle in 2015 after realizing the financial burden associated with undergoing numerous appointments for cancer treatment while she battled breast cancer. 

Tracy died June 21, 2016 at the age of 52. 

Her husband, Dennis Dinelle, is now continuing Tracy’s charitable work.  

“Her idea was to alleviate some of that stress on that part of the journey, plus the financial part of it as well,” he said. 

Dinelle says that over the past three years, Tracy’s Dream has been accessed more than 2,000 times by cancer patients, providing roughly $100,000 worth of tokens and passes. 

“It’s great to come out and partner with a great event like this in the community,” Dinelle told SooToday. “For us, we’ve always just believed that a group like the Primavera or the service clubs that we have in town - charities like this - all work in one way towards a common goal, which is helping people.”

The headliner for this year’s Italian Canadian Festival is Hard Day’s Night, a Beatles tribute band out of Cleveland. 

But the porketta, rapini, meatballs, sausage, pizza and cullari may just contend for top billing.  

“It feels great,” said Scanga, when asked about keeping the Italian Canadian Festival going for eight years now. “I think it is a good cross between Italian and Canadian culture, and it’s bringing the whole community together.”