Wickliffe, Ohio – The Wickliffe Italian-American Club announced that the 25th Annual Pat O’Brien Chevrolet Cleveland Challenge Cup of Bocce will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday August 22nd, 23rd & 24th, 2008 at the Wickliffe Italian-American Club located at 29717 Euclid Avenue in Wickliffe, Ohio 44092. The event features 84 competing bocce teams from Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan & Canada. The tournament begins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday August 22nd, and runs continuously through Sunday night on the seven bocce courts, six of which are covered. The Wickliffe Italian-American Club will present the top 16 teams with cash prizes totaling $15,000. To enter a team in this year’s tournament (4-5 person team entry fee is $150) call Paul DiCicco at 440-552-1865, or Gino Latessa, (Wickliffe I &A Club President), at 216-789-6393. Applications will also be available at the three Pat O’Brien Chevrolet stores in Willoughby Hills, Westlake, and Medina, as well as various Key Bank branches and can also be downloaded from the club’s website (www.wickliffeianda.com).

Another addition to the weekend’s festivities this year, will be the club’s first-ever “Cornhole” Tournament, which will run simultaneously with the bocce tournament, featuring 64 two-man teams competing for $1,600 in prize money. To enter a team in the Cornhole Tournament, call Charles Albertone at 440-478-9729. Entertainment will run throughout the weekend in the covered pavilion featuring “Carmelina” (Italian) from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday night, Joey Tomsic (polka) from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Pieces of Eight (classic rock) from 8 p.m. to midnight on Saturday. Sunday is Family Day and will include the “Herps Alive” show, a hands-on reptile and amphibian show. Food vendors will provide a variety of homemade Italian food as well as traditional American fare.

This year’s event will also feature an Italian Cultural Tent on Saturday, August 23rd from noon until 5:00 p.m., where activities will include a cooking demonstration by the Corporate Executive Chef from Nestle’s Food Service – Mike Manista, a wine-making workshop by Wickliffe’s own Barrel Room Winery, a presentation on traveling to Italy by DaVinci Custom Travel (Talmadge, OH), a demonstration of traditionial Italian dancing and singing, and a special guest appearance by Miss Italia/Ohio. An Invitational Bocce Tournament will be held on Sunday, featuring teams from various Lake County institutions as well as several TV and Radio stations.

THE WICKLIFFE ITALIAN-AMERICAN CLUB is a community-based social/fraternal organization established in 1932 for people of Italian ancestry who live in the city of Wickliffe, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio). The club actively promotes and recognizes those of Italian descent who have furthered the Italian cultural bond that they share, and offers educational programs for the children and grandchildren of it’s members, as well as awarding college scholarships each year to those who have demonstrated knowledge and pride in their Italian heritage. The Pat O’Brien Chevrolet Cleveland Challenge Cup of Bocce Tournament is now in it’s 25th year and has grown from 16 teams to 84 teams, with attendance hitting over 10,000 once again in 2007. It is now the largest men’s bocce tournament in the Midwest.

Wickliff Italian and American Club Home