Gearing up for Columbus Day. The Federation of Italian Americans (FIAO) kicked off the lead-up to its annual parade with its yearly fundraising brunch. The event, held at Sirico’s, 8023 13th Ave., on Sunday, September 30 honored this year’s grand marshals: New York State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Bruno, 62nd Precinct Community Affairs Detective Stephen Agosta, Principal of P.S. 748 for Global Scholars Ursula Annio and past president of Ben-Bay Kiwanis and FIAO and Maimonides Medical Center Trustee Frank Naccarato.

President of FIAO Carlo Scissura discussed the significance of the day. “It’s an opportunity to do two things,” he explained. “One is of course to highlight the grand marshals of the parade. There are four great grand marshals this year so we were very excited to honor them, highlight them and give them the awards. It also helps raise money for the parade which is an expensive proposition. We had one of our most successful brunches ever, so we’re really happy about it.”