NY Knicks 2015 Draft Party

The New York Knicks hosted the 2015 Knicks Draft Viewing Party Presented by Chase on June 25th at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Approximately 3,000 fans came out to see who the hometown team would select with the 4th Overall Selection of the 2015 NBA Draft. They selected Kristaps Porzingis, a 7’ 1’’ forward from Latvia, with their pick. Soon afterwards, there was a live phone call between the CEO of MSG and Porzingis (which was shared with the audience), and the fans cheered to welcome him when it was completed.

Of course, a FILO event would not be complete without other various attractions to keep the attendees engaged. The night included Knicks Legends Walt Frazier and John Starks, who talked on stage to the crowd, a full-size court that hosted multiple competitions, including a 3-point shootout, and many prizes for all of the activities, which included 4 tickets to Opening Night and a private tour of Terminal 23. DJ Mode and the Knicks Dancers also attended to energize the fans.

FILO’s role included driving a box truck across America with the custom full-court and warm-up court, as well as graphics and signage installation and creating a custom branded countdown clock to showcase the NBA Draft as it took place.

Festa Italiana returns to Harriet Island!

Festa Italiana will be held on Harriet Island on July 17th from 11am to 10pm and July 18th from 10am to 10pm. Harriet Island lends the perfect setting to produce an Italian festival. It is located across the Mississippi River from The Levee, an Italian community that once occupied an area in St. Paul until the 1970's. The Mississippi River is also the perfect setting for a gondola ride and a Via Dell'Amore.

Festa Italiana MN is a non-profit organization, dedicated to preserving the Italian heritage found in St. Paul and surrounding communities of Minnesota. Festa's mission is to provide a platform to showcase Italian heritage through music, dance, a heritage building, gondola rides on the Mississippi, a Via Dell'Amore with authentic vendors, an artesian tent, authentic food and beverages, and family friendly activities.

This is Festa's fourth year, with this year proving to be even better and stronger with a new artesian tent, a wine tasting area, new vendors, new displays in the heritage building, and new entertainment, including The Rat Pack Revival. Many new groups from around Minnesota will also be taking part in this festival such as The Italian American Men's Club. Team Festa is proud to organize this authentic ethnic festival, not only for the people of Minnesota but for their community as well. This is their legacy; one that they are proud to say will carry the Italian story well into the future.

2nd Annual GermanFest

The 2nd Annual GermanFest Heritage Festival took place on June 19th-21st at the Historic Schmidt Brewery site. After having the success that the inaugural festival had in 2014, it was easy to imagine an even bigger event this year. Once again, the focus was on celebrating German culture through food, entertainment, art, and community. And we received another year of great weather, which helped to attract large crowds, especially on Sunday.

Many of the popular activities were brought back for 2015; these included the Strongman competition, dachshund dog races, many different cultural demonstrations and presentations, and the various walking and bus tours. Our partnership with the St. Paul Fire Department’s Operation Warm was expanded this year, to include a GermanFest/SPFD calendar and a human foosball game (with all proceeds and donations going towards providing children with winter coats).

Of course, without the World Cup viewing party and the re-lighting of the Schmidt sign that took place in 2014, other feature attractions were created for this years’ event. The new activities included a 5K bicycle ride, a Friday night that was open to the public and featured a Beatles re-creation band (Rubber Soul), a large screen showing German films throughout the festival, and an expanded kid’s area. Since Father’s Day fell on the Sunday of GermanFest this year, many families came to spend an afternoon together while exploring their German heritage.

Nearly every upgrade this year proved to be successful. Grouping many of the food vendors together provided a “food row” and allowed people to try different types of German offerings. The marketplace vendors were also grouped closer together and placed in the middle of the festival, encouraging all visitors to shop as they walked from one end of the site to the other. The addition of Festival Director, Linda DeRoode, was critical to expanding GermanFest and for growing FILO’s list of festivals.

FILO looks forward to bringing back GermanFest in 2016 for the 3rd consecutive year, and looks forward to making the festival even bigger and better next year!