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Holy Ravioli! Annual Pasta Dinner To Benefit Little Italy Parish

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Meatballs, ravioli, spaghetti and a whole lot more--it's all on the menu Sunday at one of Baltimore's biggest church dinners.

Ron Matz reports on what's cooking in Little Italy.

They're busy in the kitchen at St. Leo's Church.

"I have more volunteers than I can use," said Sue Corasaniti, St. Leo's volunteer coordinator. "Everybody wants to be involved, and it's wonderful. We start in the middle of February. We have two Saturdays. Everyone comes down and makes the cheese ravioli by hand. We had 80 people the first week and 60 people the next week. We made over 12,000 ravioli.

"The day before the dinner everybody will show up and make the meatballs. We have 400 pounds of meat. The day of the dinner volunteers come in early."

With 400 pounds of meat on the table, spaghetti and meatballs are just part of the menu for Sunday's famous ravioli dinner.

"We have carry-out in the church hall and a sit down in the school hall. We'll serve about a thousand people in the school hall and hopefully about a thousand carry-outs in the church hall," Corasaniti said.

Father Sal Furnari says come on down.

"The dinner is big for us for two reasons. It's an important fundraiser, and more importantly it brings people together for fellowship. People from inside the community and outside the community," said Furnari.

Jerry Elliott and his family have been volunteering for more than 40 years. It's a Little Italy tradition. About 2,000 meals will be served.

"I've been involved here well over 30 years," Elliott said. "Our family has been doing it longer. We enjoy it, and it's a lot of fun."

"All the profits go to St. Leo's Parish to keep it viable. We do this dinner twice a year: the first Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November," Corasaniti said.

You can eat in or carry-out a delicious meal, including dessert for just 11 bucks, $5.50 for kids.

"Where can you get a dinner for $11, and it includes dessert? We invite everyone to come down to Little Italy for a good time on Sunday afternoon. Be a part of our family, and be a part of our tradition," said Furnari.

So grab a cannoli. It all benefits the rock of one of Baltimore's most famous neighborhoods.

"We sometimes do as many as a thousand carry-outs. It's a good crowd. We expect to have a good number of people on Sunday and make some money for St. Leo's," Elliott said.

The St. Leo's ravioli and meatball dinner is Sunday from noon until 6 p.m.

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