Tonight - Free Flamenco & Bossanova

Record-breaking temps make this late-April Monday anything but ordinary. I reccommend making the night even more memorable by escaping your stuffy non-air-conditioned apartment and checking out one of these two live music events:

Greta Panettieri @ Bocca Restaurant - 9 E 19th St between Broadway & Park Ave

Italian-born bossa nova singer, Greta Panettieri, brings the Brazilain tradtion to life in N.Y.C. at this FREE event. Her beautiful vocals are accompanied by electric bass (Mike LaValle) and piano (Andrea Sammartino).

Gipsy Kings @ Via dei Mille - W. Broadway between Broome & Grande
Sexy flamenco guitar, vocals and some surprise scantily clad dance performances make this monthly residency a must. Reservations are probably all booked for a table, but come hang at the bar or stake your claim on the dance floor. They may even let you jam with them after a few Coronas...but it's B.Y.O.D. (bring your own djembe)

Huge Turnout at Italy Fundraiser

At least two thousand people waited patiently on the long line outside Cipriani 55 last Thursday and showed an outpouring of support for the victims of last week's deadly earthquake in Abruzzo. The impromptu fundraiser was organized in only three days; a testament to the closeness of the Italian-American community and the strong bond between New York and Italy.

[Photo: Fulvio Minichini]

Cipriani's grand ballroom went from empty to jam-packed within the first hour of the event. The crowd, the majority of whom were Italians and Italian-Americans were treated to legendary Cipriani Bellinis and passed hors d'oeuvres included small caprese skewers and tuna carpacio and fried zucchini chips. A silent auction raised even more money for the victims, with a Vespa, a Knicks jersey donated by Danilo Gallinari, and luxury Ferrari merchandise on the block.

A moment of silence towards the middle of the event sombered the room and reminded us all of our reason for attending.

[Photo: Fulvio Minichini]

The group responsible for the fundraiser is Commissione Giovani, a branch of the COM.IT.ES non-profit organization sponsored by the Italian government whose goal is to sustain Italian culture and provide a network for young Italians living abroad. In a statement they released at the event, the group said, "The L'Aquila Relief Effort Fundraiser is the most important and challenging event that we have organized. Now more than ever it is the time for us to unite as an Italian community in an effort to show support for our people."

Related Stories:

Epicurious

New York Supports Italian Earthquake Victims

Tonight I'll be joining what I expect to be a huge crowd at the impromptu fundraiser for L'Aquila relief efforts in Italy. It's happening TONIGHT at 7pm at Cipriani Club 55(55 Wall St.). Tickets are $25 and Cipriani will serve cocktails and hors d'oeuvres throughout the evening.

Other ways to support the victims and their families:
www.thesundaynyc.com
Clicking the DONATE button will direct you to PayPal

Italian American Museum
Walk-in donations are being accepted at the museum in Little Italy at 155 Mulberry St. Or you can donate online.

Travelling to Turin?

Print this article I wrote for Peter Greenberg before you go. Read it on the plane and you'll be an honorary local before you even land!

Travel Site Does It Right: Trazzler

New travel sites spring up weekly on the web. Many just re-invent the wheel with regurgitated travel tales and basic technology. Not Trazzler. With an all-star development team including online travel media guru, Adam Rugel, and the founders of Twitter, the eight-month-old site is picking up major steam and a huge travel-obsessed fan base.

It's Trazzler's "snapshot of a moment" stories and funky personalization technology that make the site so fresh and user-friendly. You can customize your Trazzler experience, create a travel wishlist and receive "dream trip" suggestions on the regular. Join Trazzler on Facebook, follow the gang on Twitter or add the application to your iPhone. Once you sign-up you'll be hooked.

As a new Trazzler freelancer, you can keep up with my stories here (about New York City and Italy, of course).

Keep on Trazzlin'!

Free Bob Ross Tribute Tonite!

Finally, New York nightlife is heading in the right direction. I wonder if Bob's pet squirrels will be in attendence?

Beat the Devil Out of It!

A tribute party for the famed Public Television Painter/ Pop Culture Icon - Bob Ross.

Music by BabyBunny and Alex English.

*Bob Ross Look-A-Like Contest! $1 raffle tickets to benefit Art Start ( http://www.art-start.org/) -- win original art and exclusive Bob Ross brand products.

*Live Bob Ross instructional painting! Learn how to paint happy trees!
*Special performance by the "Titanium White Hot Dancers" (Bob Ross tribute dance troupe).
*Exhibit your Bob Ross inspired artwork in our special exhibition. Email for details: beatthedeviloutofit@gmail.com Produced in Association with Gallery Bar, PBR, and the Culture of Me.

** All proceeds from the raffle benefit Art Start, an organization that provides art education and resources to children and teenagers living in shelters. It promotes creativity as a means of transforming lives --just as Bob Ross believed.

Official Site: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?ei