Canton resident to host 7th annual CityFeast

On Sunday, January 29, hundreds of diners will descend on Salem and Hanover streets in Boston’s famous North End for the seventh annual CityFeast, a unique food-and-wine fundraiser that benefits diabetes research and care through the Joslin Diabetes Center’s High Hopes Fund.

Shannon Allen, wife of Boston Celtics star Ray Allen, makes a pizza during CityFeast with owner Carla Gomes of Canton. Both women have children with diabetes.

The popular event is the brainchild of Carla Agrippino-Gomes, a Canton resident since 1999 and the owner of two of the North End’s hottest Italian trattorias, the 39-seat Terramia and the 80-seat Antico Forno. During CityFeast, both restaurants — along with neighboring eateries Lucca, Taranta, and Tresca, owned by Boston Bruins legend Ray Bourque — will serve up a five-course dinner with five pairings of wine for $150. Patrons can also purchase tickets for a chance to win a black s50 Vespa, and the winner will be chosen live during CityFeast at Antico Forno.

The Vespa is being donated by Carla herself, who sees it as a small price to pay for such a worthy cause — especially one so near and dear to her family’s heart.

Twenty years ago, the Gomes’ youngest son, David, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on his first birthday.

“We took him to Mass General Hospital and he was almost in a diabetic coma,” recalled Carla. “The doctors said that if he lived through the night, he would have [diabetes] for the rest of his life.”

Unlike Type 2 diabetes, which is caused by a combination of lifestyle choices and genetic factors and usually develops over time, Type 1 diabetes (formerly called juvenile diabetes) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the lack of insulin production in the pancreas.

“Diabetes is a disease where you have to balance insulin levels, food intake, and exercise,” explained Carla. “It’s not something you get a break from. You always have to think about it. It’s always on your mind.”

David was fortunate in that he was able to enjoy a relatively normal childhood and “played all kinds of sports,” according to his mother. A graduate of Canton High School, he is currently in his third year as a premed student at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

But living with diabetes has also had its share of challenges, and Carla is not shy about labeling it an “awful disease” — one that “strikes men and women, young and old, and forces lifelong disease management, and may cause serious, long-term complications.”

She estimates that David, over the past 20 years, has had to endure a minimum of 45,000 insulin shots and 50,000 finger sticks. And while it has become just another part of his daily routine, it was once a heart-wrenching procedure involving mother, father, and baby.

“I had to hold my son down while my husband gave him his shots, and we had to do this three or four times every day,” said Carla. “I can’t even find the words to explain how difficult that was.”

(L-R): Carla Gomes, Shannon Allen, David Gomes, and Dr. Ronald Gomes at CityFeast in 2010

There were other challenges as David got older, from carefully counting sugars and later carbohydrates, to educating the school staff about his medical and dietary needs. They also had to worry about seizures — something that had never been an issue until his freshman year of college, when he came down with mono and suffered a series of “very scary” episodes.

Having seen the impact of diabetes firsthand, Carla now focuses her energy on fundraising and has no plans to stop until a cure is discovered and the disease is fully eradicated.

Over the past six years, she has managed to raise more than $135,000 for Joslin’s High Hopes Fund, and her goal is to make this year’s CityFeast the “most memorable and beneficial event yet.”  She also hopes to expand the event in future years and would like to involve more restaurants throughout the city.

“People love to go out to eat and have wine, so this is just a nice way to go have dinner and support a cure for diabetes at the same time,” said Carla, who became a restaurateur “quite by accident” in the mid 1990s after ten years as a dental hygienist.

Now, nearly two decades later, she’s the owner of two successful restaurants — located diagonally across the street from one another and just one street over from where she grew up — and she’s making a difference in the lives of young people by raising much-needed funds for diabetes research.

“It was my way of thanking and supporting the institution that cared for my son for the last 20 years,” said Carla, who could not say enough about the Joslin Center and its efforts to conquer diabetes.

Meanwhile, her goal for CityFeast remains unchanged from past years: “Our goal this year is to raise as much money to support the High Hopes Fund, which will help find a cure so one day my son David and millions like him will be free from diabetes.”

To purchase tickets to the seventh annual CityFeast, go to www.joslin.org/cityfeast and select one of the five participating restaurants. Tickets are $150, of which $100 is tax-deductible, and dinner begins at 6 p.m. Due to high demand, reservations are limited and will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis. Tickets for the Vespa drawing are $25, or five for $100, and can be purchased online or at participating North End restaurants.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Jan 18 2012. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.