Community

Abbondànza is all about abundance

For the past 11 years, Faculty of Fine Arts professors, staff, students and a local restaurant have joined forces for a good cause – fine arts student scholarships.

The 11th annual Abbondànza, an evening of gourmet food, fine arts and fun fills CoCo Pazzo Italian Café on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m.

"We are pleased to participate in this exciting event," says Tony Rose, CoCo Pazzo co-owner. "It is unlike anything else that goes on in this city!"

Abbondanza
Chef Ken Kain, left, and CoCo Pazzo co-owners Tony Rose and Rocco Suriano with the Abbondànza Culinary Trophy.

The festivities include a unique menu highlighting the cuisine of various regions of Italy prepared by CoCo's expert chefs coupled with tasty music, works of art and humour provided by the Faculty of Fine Arts. Guests get to vote in a most unusual way for their favorite course and the evening ends with the presentation of the Abbondànza Culinary Trophy, which hangs prominently in the restaurant for the rest of the year.

"Abbondànza is Italian for abundance and we have received an abundance of support from the community, for which we are grateful," says Doug MacArthur, Abbondànza committee chairperson. "To date, 34 students have received scholarships totaling $26,000. All the donations go directly to the Abbondànza Endowment fund that will continue to support students far into the future."

Tickets for the event are priced at $125 each and include a $60 income tax receipt.

There are very few tickets left for the event. To book yours, call Katherine Wasiak at 403-329-2227.

This story first appeared in the December 2011 issue of the Legend. If you'd like to see the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.