Festa Italiana is on the way

Festa Italiana, the annual St. Anthony celebration that benefits the Nevins Center of Charlotte helping people with disabilities that's in its ninth year, will be 1-7 p.m. May 18. The event will be held at Queens University, and the star attraction is Lake Como chef Massimo Zaina ("whose pork scaloppini brought the house down last year"); he'll be back, this time with his wife, Maria, also a chef. Last year's event purchased a new HVAC system for Nevins (replacing a system that dated back to 1969, according to a press release); this year, organizers are aiming at a handicap-accessible van with a hydraulic lift for wheelchairs.

Your ticket gets you all you can eat and drink (Italian food, wine and beer), plus Italian music, dance, opera and a silent auction, plus a Nevins Chime Choir performance and a kids' zone.

Early registration is open now, for $59 for an individual; that'll be $65 after April 20. VIP tables for eight (plus Prosecco!) go for $510 now ($560 later) and for 12, $765 ($840 later). More info: 704-750-9668.