Plus Atlantic City Restaurant Week preview, Drew Toonz and bandleader Vince Giordano on 'Boardwalk Empire' soundtrack winning a Grammy.
Mentoring Atlantic City’s Impressionable Youth
Youth Exposure of Atlantic City, a mentoring program that helps guide moderate at-risk middle school students toward a positive direction in life, is in need of financial stability. In order to keep the program up-and-running, and to help it gain status as a non-profit organization, the program is seeking funds to meet operating costs. The A.C. program began in 2011, modeling itself after a Youth Exposure program in Plainfield (Union County) that started in 2006, and assists students with role-model mentoring, tutoring, job searching, scholarship information, college and career development, and funding field trips. According to its mission statement, Youth Exposure opted to focus on children ages 12-14 (those in middle school) “because they are easily influenced by positive role models, and old enough to begin setting expectations and goals for their lives.” On Monday, Feb. 27, from 6pm-9pm, a fundraiser benefit called “Saving Our Youth” will be held at Trump Taj Mahal’s Trattoria IL Mulino to help support Youth Exposure of A.C. The cost is $30 per person and includes an evening of Italian gourmet cuisine, door prizes, raffles, musical entertainment and a cash bar. To purchase tickets in advance, call 226-7388 or e-mail acyoutheexposure@gmail.com. If you cannot attend, donations can be sent to: Youth Exposure, P.O. Box 7115, Atlantic City, NJ 08404. — Julie Pipitone
Atlantic City Restaurant Week Kickoff Charity Event
“A Taste of Atlantic City Restaurant Week” is a special preview/kickoff event that will offer a VIP preview of some of the restaurants that are participating in Atlantic City Restaurant Week March 4-10. The preview takes place Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 6:30 to 8:30pm, at the Atlantic City Country Club. One hundred percent of proceeds from the Restaurant Week preview will benefit the Community FoodBank of NJ/Southern Branch, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), Alcove of Atlantic County and the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority Foundation. Among the top chefs on hand, Harrah’s Resorts executive pastry chef, Deborah Pellegrino will provide her own special desserts. The limited-ticket event will offer only 300 tickets at $35 each. Tickets are available on-line at acrestaurantweek.com. The ticket price includes the tasting and music by the 6-piece Entourage Band. There will be a cash bar. The restaurants will serve some items that will be included on their special Restaurant Week menus, as well as specialties from their regular menus. Advance ticket purchases are recommended due to the limited number available; tickets sold at the door will be limited to the balance of tickets not sold in advance. Atlantic City Restaurant Week features some of the top area restaurants offering special menus with a prix fixe price of $33.12 for dinner and $15.12 for lunch. The event is sponsored by the Atlantic City Country Club, and the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority. — Lori Hoffman
‘Boardwalk Empire’ Soundtrack Wins Grammy
Vince Giordano, the bandleader who has been carrying the torch of 1920s music for many decades has finally been recognized for his tireless efforts. Giordano (pictured) and his band the Nighthawks took home a Grammy (Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media) for their classy work on the Boardwalk Empire: Vol. 1, Music from the HBO Original Series soundtrack album, which also includes performances by Regina Spektor, Catherine Russell (who has a great new album out herself, Strictly Romancin’), Leon Redbone, Stephen DeRosa and Kathy Brier. Giordano says he received a text on Sunday afternoon telling him of the win. “I was driving home from a gig and we were just jumping around in the car, I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “You know, it’s been a long battle getting this music recognized and it’s been one of my dreams. It’s wonderful winning, but it’s basically a win for the music. The whole world now will start listening and really finding out how great the music of the 1920s is. It brings it up to the forefront.” (Read more of this interview here) — Jeff Schwachter
Drew Toonz
Eventually, both young men fell in love with skateboarding and wanted to pass it on as a way of giving back to their community.
Dennis Gomes’ reputation as a pioneering leader with a zest for life only partially accounted for how well-liked and respected he was as an individual, which is why his sudden passing at age 68 on Friday, Feb. 24, shocked and saddened many nationwide, particularly those in the Atlantic City region where he lived and worked.
New York big-band leader Vince Giordano talks to Atlantic City Weekly about working on HBO's Boardwalk Empire and its GRAMMY-nominated soundtrack.
“It’s been my love and passion ever since I was five years old and I think this music moves people. People who come to see us, they say, ‘When I got here I was in kind of a blah mood, not so good, or depressed, or whatever and I come out in just a whole different place. I’m laughing, my spirits are lifted, it’s cheaper than going to a psychiatrist!’”
As a member of an Italian-American family growing up in Youngstown, Ohio, Joseph Donofrio's affiliation with music began with his being prompted to learn the accordion by his parents at age seven. At...
It all starts with thE Parmigiano Reggiano. Shortly after being seated in the ultra-posh formal dining room of Il Mulino restaurant at the Taj, a tuxedo-clad server arrives weighed down by an intimid...
'The whole world now will start listening and really finding out how great the music of the 1920s is. It brings it up to the forefront.'
""It's one of the saddest days for me and my entire family. I got a chance to be with Whitney a few times in the studio, outside the studio — and I always hold her in a very special place in my heart."
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