St. John’s hosted the 26th Annual New York City Italian Heritage and Culture Month on Oct. 30 in Marrillac Terrace to commemorate the contributions that Italian-American council members, educators and lawyers have made to the city of New York.

This marks the fifth year the event has been held at St. John’s, which hosted 350 guests, the highest attendance in the event’s history.

Joseph Sciame, coordinator and vice president of Community Relations, said the event was a success. “I was disappointed that news media people don’t cover such a successful night, where as they have been known to cover other more negative things; i.e. the ones that should be unmentioned on HBO,” Sciame said. “But it was a celebration of culture, great food, entertainment and talent.”

Food was provided by various businesses and restaurants and entertainment was provided by Sicilian tenor Guiseppe Taormina, new resident of Staten Island.

Among the attendees was Lou Carnesecca, chair of the Italian Cultural Center and former men’s basketball head coach, Daniele Bosio, the Deputy Consul of Italy to New York and Queens borough president Helen Marshall.

“Marshall is an ambassador of good will for all cultures and ethnic groups,” Sciame said. “We are fortunate to have her at the helm of the borough, especially supporting Italian Heritage and Culture Month.”