TWO musical items beautifully performed by Mumbulla School's Year 6 pupils opened this year's Bega branch of CWA International Day last week at the CWA hall.
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Those at the lunch gathering were treated to an instrumental performance of Vivaldi's "Spring", followed by a vocal rendition of "Dona Nobis Pacem".
The children delighted the appreciative audience, and were particularly impressive considering they had only started rehearsing 10 days before the performance.
Before returning to school the children were presented with Italy-themed goodie bags - Italy being the CWA's country of study this year.
Their performance was followed by guest speaker Grace Halin, a local business owner.
Ms Halin spoke of her Sicilian heritage with tales about her family both in Sicily and in Australia.
She said her uncle had arrived in Australia by boat in the 1950s and upon finding a building to open up a business, he sent word back to Sicily for the rest of his family to join him.
Together they established the first delicatessen in NSW in Norton St, Leichardt, in the same building the family still owns to this day.
Ms Halin said her parents met in Australia when her father moved to NSW from Queensland where he was working in the cane fields.
She also spoke about her memories growing up in Sydney as part of a big Sicilian family, who retained much of their culture and traditions, which she now passes on to her own children.
She shared some interesting old family photos and a few funny stories as well.
"I grew up with an Italian culture so when I started Kindergarten I didn't know any English," Ms Halin said.
"I still speak Italian dialect with my father when I visit him in Sydney."
She also recalled regular family holidays to Italy when a young child to visit family members who hadn't moved to Australia.
No International Day would be complete without the country of study's traditional food, which on this occasion featured a Mediterranean-style cheese platter followed by a hearty lunch of Sicilian meatballs and spaghetti made by Ms Halin.
Other activities included the singing of the Italian national anthem, a video about Sicily and its people and a presentation on Venice by Bega CWA branch international officer, Kate Albusarah.
