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Brier Hill Italian Fest will salute its roots
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
The Brier Hill Italian Festival will open its 28th year by honoring its founder.
At the opening ceremony at 7 p.m. Friday, the boccie courts at the corner of Calvin and Victoria streets – where the festival takes place – will be dedicated to the late Dominic “Dee Dee” Modarelli,
The courts are part of the ITAM Post 12 war veterans club’s memorial to fallen soldiers from the Brier Hill neighborhood. The memorial will remain dedicated to the veterans.
Modarelli, who was a bricklayer and stone mason, built the structure and put in the boccie courts in 1985 with the help of club members and men from the neighborhood.
The Brier Hill Festival will run Thursday through Aug. 18 in the North Side hillside neighborhood that was the heart of Youngstown’s Italian community for most of the 20th century. Admission is free.
In a city that has multiple Italian festivals, the Brier Hill is unique in that it’s the only one that is set in a neighborhood.
As a result, it has a sense of camaraderie for those who once lived there – and now, their children and grandchildren – and all others who visit.
Music schedule
THURSDAY
5 to 6:30 p.m.: Jim Frank Combo
7 to 8:30 p.m.: John Gabriele
9 to 11 p.m.: Jack Vasko Band
FRIDAY
5:30 to 7 p.m.: Rex Taneri Band
7 p.m.: Opening ceremony
7 to 8:30 p.m.: Butch Nichols Band
9 to 11 p.m.: Dom Tocco and Brotherhood
SATURDAY
3 to 4:30 p.m.: John Gabriele
5 to 6:30 p.m.: Jim Frank Combo
7 to 8:30 p.m.: Del Sinchak Band
9 to 11 p.m.: Butch Nichols Band
Aug. 18
10 a.m.: Lowellville Marching Band
10:30 a.m.: Mass at St. Anthony’s Church with the Lowellville band
1:30 to 3 p.m.: John Gabriele
3 to 5 p.m.: Jim Frank Combo
5:30 to 7 p.m.: Rex Taneri Band
7:30 to 9 p.m.: Del Sinchak Band
9:30 to 11 p.m.: Dom Tocco and Brotherhood
“We’ve still got some old-timers left, and we’re carrying on their heritage,” said Dominic Modarelli, the son of the late Dee Dee, and a festival organizer.
“We keep bringing people back from all over the country,” said Modarelli. “They say, ‘I can’t wait to see you at the festival’.”
Another Brier Hill festival tradition has been Dom Tocco and the Brotherhood, the band that has opened and closed the event for years.
Tocco suffered a broken leg this summer but has vowed to be back on his feet to play the festival.
Other traditions will also return, including boccie and a morra tournament at 7:30 p.m. Friday evening, the hot pepper contest on Saturday (entries at 5:30 p.m., winners announced at 7:30 p.m.), and the wine contest on Sunday (sign in at 3 p.m., winner announced at 5 p.m.).
The festival also includes beer and wine sales, plenty of food, and vendors. Every year, the festival honors a Man of the Year.
This year, it will be Dr. Robert “Bob” G. Spratt, a longtime supporter of the event.
Dr. Spratt was born in Worcester, Mass., a son of William and Elizabeth Spratt. His father, a U.S. Army Air Force pilot of a B-24 Liberator bomber, used to enjoy taking young Bob to the airport to watch planes come and go.
After graduating from high school and the University of Massachusetts, Dr. Spratt went to Bologna, Italy, to complete a medical degree at Universita degli Studii. He completed his medical residency at St. Elizabeth Hospital, and then joined the practice of Dr. Nicholas Garritano.
Dr. Spratt’s family consists of a sister, Brenda, and her husband, Peter, in New Hampshire; and a late brother, Brian, who lived in Rome.
He is married to Rebecca Kaufman, and has two children, Alexander and Abigail.