Italian music played by masked band students peacefully passes through the air, as a gondola rolls down the sidewalk. Dancers and actors with colorful masks perform on stage. Artists near the bell tower paint, inspired by the exotic school environment, with face painters nearby.
Parents enjoy various Italian foods such as risotto balls, as their kids run and play tag. Students chat and applaud their friends that are participating in the event.

This cheerful event was a Night in Italy, which took place outdoors at SDA on April 23. The event was a collaboration of various programs that included culinary arts, theatre, band, and the visual arts, all of which were under supervision from a planning committee.

The planning committee took as much inspiration from the Italian Renaissance as resources allowed. As Sophomore Colin Scharff put it: “The music I was playing was based off an Italian national dance.”

One of the committee’s heads was freshman Rachel Kaplan who said, “We tried as hard as possible to represent important Italian figures, and we had to scratch the bottom of the barrel for usable costumes.”

The event went well according to many people attending or working the event. Parent Barb Stead said, “I went to support SDA and I was pleasantly surprised. The Mona Lisa Girl wearing a picture frame was cool!”

Culinary arts junior Emily Shain was very happy about the outcome as she said, “Culinary Arts was well represented and people bought a lot of food. Everyone had a good time.” Because of the successful attendance, Culinary Arts ended up selling out of some of their food choices at the event.

Many people were concerned about the event being outside. There was a chance of rain that night. But according to freshman Laurence Cecio “There couldn’t be a gondola inside.” 
And the atmosphere just wouldn’t be the same for painting as sophomore Jill Butler said, “I used all the colors of tonight to make an abstract piece of flowers.”