Ciao! Promoter is all about pride, entertainment

By Guy D’Astolfo

Tony Trolio wants to give recognition to deserving members of the Valley’s Italian community.

POLAND — Tony Trolio’s desk sits in the back room of his store, Trolio’s T-Shirts.

Festooned with red, white and green — the colors of the Italian flag — it is surrounded by photos of show business folks Trolio has met over the years. There are cast members from “the Sopranos” and “the Godfather,” adorned with autographs and personal notes, as well as assorted singers of lesser note.

Noodles, his pet poodle (they got him after Spags died), saunters around the stacks of inventory, sticking his nose into the office to inspect a visitor.

It’s from this cozy corner that Trolio runs not only his custom T-shirt and sportswear store, but also his Italian entertainment business, Ciao Promotions.

Founded 14 years ago, Ciao does two dinner-shows each year, and several more Las Vegas-style shows, featuring acts like Ricci Martin, the Gaylords, the Rat Pack, Sonny Geraci and the Van-Dells. The company motto is “Italians Promoting Italians,” and every year at his spring dinner show an Italian man and woman of the year are honored.

This year’s event, to be held March 6 at the Georgetown in Boardman, will honor Boardman Trustee Robyn Gallitto and Mahoning County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti. Entertainment will include romantic singer Jimmy Alleva, comedian Marcantonio and dinner music by Dom Tocco and Peter Pylypiw.

Trolio got his start in the promotions business as the volunteer entertainment chairman at various events.

His first venture was a Poland youth league football team fundraiser in 1972. The show, “Italy American Style,” was held at Stambaugh Auditorium and drew 800 people. From 1985 to 1991, Trolio and his late wife, JoAnn, and their daughter, Sherry, ran Jester’s Comedy Club in Liberty.

He served as entertainment chairman of the Greater Youngstown Italian Festival from 1991 to 1997. The next year, he took over as chairman of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Italian Festival, a volunteer job that he still holds. The Mount Carmel fest raised more than $80,000 in profit for the church last year.

In an area with an unusually large amount of Italian festivals, Trolio is the undisputed go-to guy. In addition to his work with Mount Carmel and Ciao, he also does promotional work for the Warren Italian Festival and the Brier Hill Festival.

His reputation extends beyond the Mahoning Valley. Up until it closed two years ago, he was involved in the giant Pittsburgh Italian Festival at Station Square, as well as the inaugural Italian Fest at Mountaineer Park.

But despite the work he puts in, Trolio views it as a hobby and not a job. Financially, he’s happy to break even.

“I remember when I was a kid growing up on Brier Hill,” said Trolio, referring to the city’s one-time Italian neighborhood. “The old folks would come out to festivals with canes. You couldn’t keep them away, they loved it so much. I want to keep that going. As long as it’s a [financial] wash, I will keep doing it. These are my people and this is my music.”

Trolio started Ciao Promotions to fill a void in the entertainment scene. “The younger ones have plenty of choices,” he said. “There are some occasional big-time shows, like Tony Bennett at $75 a ticket, but a lot of our attendees are on a fixed income and can’t afford too many events like that. I asked myself, ‘what are these people supposed to do?’ I wanted to bring them entertainment at affordable prices, someplace to go and see first-class entertainment and have dinner for less than $40 per person. We’ve done that.”

His Vegas-style shows average around 300 attendees, with more than 100 of them younger people. “They want to continue the tradition,” said Trolio. Joey Naples, a Girard school teacher, is the master of ceremonies at the shows.

The author of three autobiographical books about growing up in Youngstown, Trolio still holds the pride in his city and his heritage that his parents instilled in him and his siblings. His T-shirt shop is divided into three segments: Poland High School, Youngstown State University and Italy.

Ciao Promotions’ Man and Woman of the Year awards are a sign of his pride. “I wanted to do something good for Italians,” he said. “They get a bad rap — all you ever hear about are the gangsters. There are a lot of local people doing things that people don’t know about and this is a way of saying ‘hey, we know what you are doing’.”