This Week >> 8/21/2008
Skiing, cycling, football, rodeo, bowling. This week Let's Travel! guest Bijan Bayne tells listeners how to enjoy sports on their vacations. Then it's on to TV-land with Eurochannel's President Gustavo Vainstein who talks about his company's US launch. We end up in Little Italy in NYC for the 6th annual Pasta Eating Contest and a visit to Focolare restaurant to hear the "singing chef" James Napodano. Sport, TV, food it's all here this week on Let's Travel!
Where we'll be exploring
What has become an annual Independence Day Weekend tradition – The 6th Annual Little Italy Pasta Eating Competition – was held this year on Saturday, July 5, at 4:00 PM in front of Sal Anthony's S.P.Q.R. Restaurant, 133 Mulberry Street (between Hester and Grand Streets), in the heart of New York City's historic Little Italy. It was won by Fabrizio Rinaldi, who will be a guest on this week's show.
The event is presented by the Little Italy Merchants Association (LIMA) as part of its annual Summer in Little Italy weekend festival which continues through Labor Day. Last year the eating competition – in which employees of eight to ten local restaurants and cafes in Little Italy – vie for the title, "The Biggest Pasta Eater in Little Italy."
Each year the crowds grow larger and larger as spectators come from all over the tri-state area and beyond to watch Little Italy's biggest eaters down pounds and pounds of freshly prepared pasta. This year the pasta competition will feature ingredients from three new sponsors – Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Pasta, sauce made with Carmelina…'e San Marzano® Tomatoes, ‘The Official Tomato of NYC's Little Italy,' and topped with cheeses provided by Gabriella™ of Little Italy, ‘The Official Artisan Cheeses of NYC's Little Italy.'
To read more about this year's contest, click here
Guests
Bijan C. Bayne is an award-winning Washington-based freelance writer, and author of "Sky Kings: Black Pioneers of Professional Basketball", which was named to the Suggested Reading List of the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004. The book is also cited in "Booktalks Plus: Motivating Teens to Read" by Lucy Schall. In July 2002, Bayne, who speaks Spanish, won the Robert Peterson Research Award for his presentation "The Struggle of the Latin American Ballplayer", given at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. Bayne is the sports travel correspondent for the "Travel'n On Radio Show" (www.traveln-on.com). He was a contributing writer to "Pro Basketball News". In February 2008, Bayne received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his sports research from the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation.
Bayne's chapter on Black baseball in North Carolina appears in the book "Baseball in the Carolinas" (McFarland 2002). In addition to appearing in the upcoming documentary on the historic International League Baltimore Orioles, "The Forgotten Birds", Bayne has been interviewed and/or quoted by The Washington Post, AOL Fanhouse, Rack magazine, Slate, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and on radio programs in Puerto Rico, Boston, Providence, Durham, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. A member of United States Basketball Writers Association, his essay on schoolyard basketball appears in the anthology "Basketball in America" (Haworth 2005). Bayne has been a writing instructor in afterschool programs and at adult education centers, as well as a public relations writer. He is currently at work researching a documentary film.
To visit Bijan's blog, click here
Eurochannel
Gustavo Vainstein is presently the Chairman & CEO of Eurochannel since May 2004. As Director of Media of CitéFibre, from France, he was involved in the launch of the first "Fiber To The Home System" in Paris. During 10 years, he was the Senior Vice President of Marketing & Programs at Lyonnaise Cable (the main Paris cable system). He was mainly involved in the launch of the first digital Cable television service in Europe. Between 1986 and 1992, he launched Lille and Nice cable systems. He was also responsible in the launch of the first French pay-per-view services. Previously, he worked at INA, Institut National de l`Audiovisuel in France. He was a producer of Radio and Television in Argentina. He was a Professor at the Universities of Paris and Mexico. He has degrees in Sociology, Communication and in Educational Sciences from the Universities of Paris and Buenos Aires.
About Eurochannel
Eurochannel is a cable and satellite television channel that was initially created in Brazil in 1994. Eurochannel is dedicated to promote the rich European culture and lifestyle in the world. It broadcasts a 100% of European programs in original audio version subtitled, 24/7. At the present, Eurochannel is being offered by more than 200 cable and satellite providers. With its Spanish, Portuguese and English subtitled versions, Eurochannel broadcasts its programs all over Latin America, Canada, Portugal, the Caribbean, Angola, Mozambique and United States. Available in more than 6 million households throughout the region and reaching more than 22 million people in 20 countries, Eurochannel offers a lively and dynamic image of Europe, with the best quality movies and series, programs dedicated to fashion events, arts or mythical destinations.