Sudbury’s Caruso Club swaps gala for porchetta bingo on New Year’s Eve

The Caruso Club is hosting a 'Porchetta Bingo' New Year's Eve event to celebrate local Italian heritage & attract a younger demographic. Amanda Hicks explains.

This New Year’s Eve, Sudbury’s Caruso Club is trading in the traditional glitz and glamour for something a little more savoury.

In a departure from the formal black-tie galas of years past, the club is leaning into a ‘Nickel City’ classic to ring in 2026: Porchetta bingo.

“We’re calling it ‘Tombola Italiana’,” said Amanda Casagrande, the club’s entertainment chair.

“In the Italian culture, that tombola is a form of bingo play.”

The decision to shift from a formal event was driven largely by a desire to make the holiday more accessible to a younger demographic.

“We’ve heard some feedback from younger people that cost is important to them,” Casagrande said.

“Keeping that in mind was really important to us. Over the years, New Year’s celebrations have changed. We thought just something different to bring out a lively crowd on New Year’s Eve.”

The move is also a deep dive into the city’s Italian Canadian roots. While porchetta is found across the globe, it has a lineage that spans nearly a century in Sudbury.

“It was actually my great-uncle who brought his recipe of porchetta that we know here in Sudbury,” Casagrande told CTV News.

“There are many different variations of porchetta, but the one integral to the Sudbury community was first introduced back in the ’30s by him.”

The night will feature a special screening of the documentary ‘Porchetta di Sudbury’. The 25-minute film explores how a traditional Italian dish transformed into a cultural icon of northern Ontario.

The creators of the film, Jonathan Danilyw and Brandon Gray, will be in attendance at the Caruso Club.

“For most of us who grew up in Sudbury, I don’t think many of us would really have even known that what we call porchetta is unique,” said Danilyw.

“It’s really interesting to step outside of your upbringing and examine a component of it deeply. It gives you this cool perspective on where you grew up.”

Danilyw grew up in Sudbury, while Gray moved to the city from Parry Sound to study at Laurentian University, but now calls it home. Both are videographers who love food.

“Porchetta was something that I learned about when I moved to Sudbury,” Gray said.

“For me, porchetta was always this thing that I really identified as a Sudbury thing. So, it was something that I always kind of wanted to explore further.”

The film premiered at the beginning of December at the Knox Hall, selling out during its two-day run.

“The Italian community in Sudbury really welcomed us with open arms,” said Gray.

“We were able to work with essentially all the main staples and institutions in the community.”

For the New Year’s Eve event at the Caruso Club, 200 tickets have sold so far. Each ticket includes a bingo card for the porchetta games, snacks, charcuterie, desserts and a champagne toast at midnight along with access to the dance floor.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Tickets are available online or by calling the club directly.

Proceeds from the even will support the Caruso Club’s Italian Learning Centre.