When some one mentions the neighborhood Little Italy to you- what is the first thing you picture? The restaurants, outdoor movies, or maybe the lighted banners? For me it’s the food and welcoming lighted banners.
Now this may not be exactly restaurant related but it is for a good cause that helps give the Little Italy restaurants part of their ambiance…
The Light Up Little Italy Campaign has launched to see the nine strands of decorative lights that hang across Little Italy’s streets light up once again in the colors of the Italian flag. The green, white and red light strands were hung over 15 years ago, however, due to lack of resources, they eventually went dark. Currently, only a few on each strand are illuminated at night.
The goal is to repair and replace the faulty lights, sockets and wiring, and “light up Little Italy” once again by December 3, 2010 to coincide with the neighborhood’s Christmas tree-lighting event sponsored annually by the Little Italy Restaurant Association. The plan is to use energy- efficient C7 LED bulbs – 2,355 of them to be exact – in a project estimated at $8,700. This move will be environmentally friendly as the current bulbs used 16,000 watts of power whereas the new lamps will use 400.
Friends of Little Italy from everywhere are being asked to “buy a bulb” at $5 each; businesses are encouraged to sponsor a half strand at $500 or a whole strand for $1,000. Bulb sponsors may donate “in honor or in memory of” a loved one. Lists of donors will be published in Little Italy’s Neighborhood News weekly e-letter, on LittleItalyMD.com, and on temporary signs hung inside Little Italy’s organizations and establishments and at various events.
“Already those who feel passionate about Little Italy are mailing donations,” said Susanna Molino, pro bono director of the Promotion Center for Little Italy, Baltimore, established January 2010. “Seems many are tired of looking at the half-lit strands of lights and would love to see Little Italy sparkle once again.”
To buy bulbs, Little Italy friends are invited to mail a check payable to Promotion Center for Little Italy, Baltimore, c/o 1020 Stiles Street, Little Italy, MD 21202. For more information, email SusannaMolino@LittleItalyMD.com.
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