THE Swan Italian Sporting Club in Middle Swan is celebrating 52 years of community, culture and fun this year.

Club secretary Stefanie Moretta said the club was first founded in the 1970s by Italian migrants.

“They had left their homes, so they didn’t have their people around them and decided to band together so that they could create their own family,” she said.

“A number of people donated their time, skills, and money to build the club that we see today. In the bar area, we honour these people with a plaque of their names. Many of these members still attend the club’s events today.”

Ms Moretta said the club’s achievements throughout the years vary from its affiliation with the Swan United Football Club and the Morley Ladies Darts Club to the expansion of its current building.

“We are proud of the events we host such as Zumba, line dancing and judo classes as well as weddings, wakes and birthday parties,” she said.

“We also have two-course seniors’ lunch on Wednesdays, pizza pasta nights, concert dinners and poker nights.”

Community events are a highlight, but Ms Moretta said their charity work is one of the most rewarding things they do.

“We’ve got, at the moment, female dignity bags, and we donate food to not-for-profits. We’re hopefully doing a silent auction next year, which will donate to the Purple Hands Foundation. We do a lot of charity as well as community events, but we tend to keep that a little bit quiet,” she said.

The club currently has 350 members, most of Italian origin.

“Because we’ve been going for 52 years, most of our members are a little older now, especially the Italian side. So, we are trying to get younger people in by integrating more into the community,” Ms Moretta said.

“Originally the club was a haven for the Italian community who were a long way from their country of origin, but over the years we have tried to make the club a community social centre as well. We offer a friendly atmosphere to all who attend our functions and events, regardless of age and nationality.”

Ms Moretta hopes the club will continue to prosper in the years to come.

“Next year we’re looking at a big community day car show, and we’re also looking at having a sort of a semi-Italian festival here with food and our own special drink – not alcoholic of course.”

To celebrate its anniversary, the club is hosting a masquerade Halloween ball, where guests are encouraged to dress up elegantly for the event on Saturday, October 31 from 7pm to 10.30pm at 9 Francis Street, Middle Swan.

The ball will include a four-course meal, live entertainment by the band Avanti, raffle prizes and a glass of bubbles on arrival.

Tickets are $65 for members and $75 for non-members.

Bookings can be made by calling Sally at 0403 323 703 or Debbie at 0437 153 007.