¡CityArts! celebration: CityArts will hold its summer celebration on Thursday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at 891 Broad St. The celebration is a 16-year tradition that includes summer youth performances, art, food and live music with the Kim Trusty Band and Mr. Deep Positivity.

Up to 75 young artists will display their art and perform — showcasing drawings, paintings, masks, clay creatures, fusion dance and rap. The celebration is for young artists, artist-teachers and families.

Providence ¡CityArts! for Youth Inc. is a community arts center with a mission to provide free and accessible arts programs to at-risk urban youths between ages 8 and 14. It serves more than 400 youths and families through afterschool, summer and daytime arts programs each year, providing opportunities to explore, create, express and grow.

Its corps of artist-teachers work with youths on-site in professional art education studios and in neighborhoods throughout the city including the Providence recreation centers, Knight Memorial Library, Olneyville community schools and Gilbert Stuart Middle School.

For information, call (401)941-0795 ext. 103, or visit www.providencecityarts.org.

Sons of Italy salutes Providence: A free magazine will be given to all residents of Rhode Island from the Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA), the nation’s oldest and largest organization for men and women of Italian heritage.

The Sons of Italy will hold an executive session in Providence Aug. 7 to 10, and to celebrate Providence’s rich Italian history, a free copy of Italian America magazine will be mailed out.

To receive a copy, send an e-mail with mailing address to nationaloffice@osia.org. The offer expires Aug. 31; limit one per household.

The executive session will be held at the Providence Marriott. OSIA, national officers, state presidents and board members will be present to review OSIA’s activities and progress on a broad range of issues. From philanthropic programs to anti-defamation work, OSIA works at the community, national and international levels to promote the heritage and culture of an estimated 26 million Italian-Americans, the nation’s fifth largest ethnic group, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The public is also invited to a lunch with television cooking show host Mary Ann Esposito. Esposito will select items from her latest book, Ciao Italia Slow and Easy, for the menu. She will also sign copies of the cookbook and speak about her experiences as a host and author.

Tickets to the luncheon are $60. For information and tickets, contact the OSIA National Office at (202) 547-2900. RSVP by Aug. 1.

Babysitting training: Through its Blue Angel Community Health Grant program, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island provided funding that enabled the Red Cross to offer free first aid and CPR training in low-income communities. Since 2007, the Red Cross has trained more than 400 adults.

To offer lifesaving skills to minority youths as well, the Red Cross partnered with the Providence After School Alliance (PASA) this spring to conduct babysitter training in several AfterZones. Twenty-five students at Oliver Hazard Perry, Roger Williams and Gilbert Stuart Middle schools participated in the training and received Red Cross babysitter certification.

“The pilot project with PASA allowed us to evaluate the best way to deliver our babysitter instruction in an after-school setting,” according to Marisa Albanese, interim CEO of the Red Cross. “The after-school model was composed of 12 one-hour sessions and included more hands-on instruction. We hope to offer this revised version of the program in the new school year.”

For information on the program, contact George Neubauer, director of health and safety for the Red Cross, at (401) 831-7700 ext. 121, or via e-mail neubauerg@riredcross.org.