We found one tub of the African Black Soap that I was looking for to replenish our stock! One of the African countries' booths (from Mali) had one tub left out of the stock that he brought to the festival. That should last us a few weeks, but it won't hold me over until the next African Festival in July.
Mali:
This afternoon, Mark and I attended the 11th Annual St. Louis Festival of Nations. (August 27 - 28, 2011)
I am pleased to announce that since the first St. Louis Festival of Nations in 2000, this venue has grown by leaps and bounds. Actually, in just the past 3 years, this festival has quadrupled in size.
They have 3 entertainment stages that are each booked with a separate act every hour that they are in operation. That is 45 different groups of singing, dancing, bands and other ethnic entertainment running continuously. Running hourly, there are also many demonstrations for arts and crafts from several countries, usually several per hour, and scattered throughout the park.
We walked through the park, from booth to booth.
When we explored booths from Peru and Bolivia, for example, I could feel the warm sun on my skin from an August day in St. Louis, but the sun also warmed the hand knit wool items from Alpaca. I could also smell the lanolin in the wool. Mentally, I went on a mini-vacation to the hills in Bolivia and to the Andes mountains.
The next booth was Moroccan. All aboard the Marrakesh Express! I paused for a moment. The items that I saw instantly took me to a Moroccan Souq.
Next stop: India!
The fine clothing, fabrics and other textiles are simply beautiful. I got a welcome whiff of the food that a couple that were sitting in the next booth was eating. That booth was Pakistani. Many St. Louis local restaurants combine Pakistani / Indian food on the same buffets. The combination of an Indian bazaar (souq!) and a whiff of Pakistani food took me to the streets of Delhi.
_____________________
This link is the full schedule, festival map and other information.
(after the link loads, scroll down: This brochure has 11 pages.):
http://www.festivalofnationsstl.org/pdf/Festival-of-Nations-Program-2011.pdf
As an example, these countries were represented by booths in the food court:
Bengali
Congolese
Bolivian
Indian
Moroccan
Burmese
Russian
Canadian
Kenyan
Nepalese
Guatemalan
Chinese
Malian
Bhutanese
Ghanaian
Thai
Zimbabwean
Mexican
Iranian
Zambian
Ugandan
Senegalese
West African
Ecuadorian
American
Afghan
Hawaiian
Haitian
Vietnamese
Native American
Kurdish
Bulgarian
Argentine
Turkish
Jamaican
Ethiopian
Soul
Israeli
Bosnian
Cajun
Greek
Peruvian
Eritrean
Polish
Romanian
Filipino
Caribbean
Scottish
Malaysian
Nigerian
German
(...and there were 'multiples' of each cuisine! For example, there were 3 Peruvian, 3 Russian, 4 Mexican, 3 Polish food booths, and many multiples of others.)
Considering these choices, and that I am of the adventuresome persuasion, the task of selecting only one cuisine was daunting. I didn't want to choose Indian as our lunch, because we have Indian food at least once a week at one of the many local Indian restaurants. I also use Indian spices in my daily cooking.
We choose:
Eritean!
You ask, "HUH?" What the Hell is that?
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to explain! :)
"Eritean" is anything from the country of Eritrea. Eritrea is officially the State of Eritrea, and is a country in the Horn of Africa. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 45,406 square miles with an estimated population of 6 million.
Eritrea is located here:
I never knew this country existed, so I have definitely never heard of this cuisine.
Now that I stop and think about it, I want you to do a little test. I want you to count the number of people that you know that would readily approach a booth that served food from a country that they had never heard of, and blindly order a plate full of food from the menu, then eat every bite with great gusto. Do you have spare fingers left on that hand?
I have lived as "me" for so long that I don't often stop to realize that I am blessed to be in that minority. "That minority" is a small group of people that have never lost the curiosity of a child, and have never developed the self-induced calluses of adulthood and old age.
I have also come to the conclusion that the fact that I am an advanced level knitter and that I have taught myself to read music (Scott Joplin, Bach, Beethoven, as well as a LOT of popular music) in a short 2 years time are not gifts. Nobody "gave" them to me. Both of those accomplishments are the result of hard work and determination - pure and simple. The gifts that I have been given are not so apparent.
The curiosity that I have to constantly explore the world around me, and to do so with a strong sense of urgency: Now, that is a gift!
I learned from a very young age that the world is exponentially larger than the acreage that I occupy during my daily existence. That, too is a gift!
I have been spared the "jackals fighting over a bone" interaction that occurs between members of a family that serves to do nothing more than to provide the ego boost that they cannot otherwise provide for their psyches, and to fulfill the need to occupy themselves because they are too lazy to learn and master a serious hobby or skill. That is another gift.
These are not really 'gifts'. They are a part of a complicated bartering system that I have discussed in previous blogs. Whatever initiated that chain reaction, I am thankful for it, and I am ready for that 'next great adventure'.
You know.... There is one more day left to explore this festival. Which cuisine are you going to try?
____________________
Overheard while walking through the park (one guy talking to another):
"If you want to be adventuresome, go to a booth where the line is the SHORTEST!" (the food is least known by the general population)
_____________________
Things that I will not allow you to eat in my presence at such a gathering:
Corned beef & cabbage, spring rolls, crab rangoon. Well. Hell. As far as that goes - anything Americanized. The purpose of this adventure is to eat ANYTHING purely non-American. You can eat at McDonalds any other day!
Go forth, and live likewise. Time is a non-renewable resource. You aren't getting any younger, you know, and "I'll take time to do that (insert unknown date in the future)." is a form of lousy procrastination, and probably general laziness. For many of us, there won't be a (insert unknown date in the future).
There is still one more day to get to that festival.
(And if you miss it, the Japanese Fest at the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the Greek Fest at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church are both next weekend! You betcha - we will be in attendance.)
- Michael
Mali:
This afternoon, Mark and I attended the 11th Annual St. Louis Festival of Nations. (August 27 - 28, 2011)
I am pleased to announce that since the first St. Louis Festival of Nations in 2000, this venue has grown by leaps and bounds. Actually, in just the past 3 years, this festival has quadrupled in size.
They have 3 entertainment stages that are each booked with a separate act every hour that they are in operation. That is 45 different groups of singing, dancing, bands and other ethnic entertainment running continuously. Running hourly, there are also many demonstrations for arts and crafts from several countries, usually several per hour, and scattered throughout the park.
We walked through the park, from booth to booth.
When we explored booths from Peru and Bolivia, for example, I could feel the warm sun on my skin from an August day in St. Louis, but the sun also warmed the hand knit wool items from Alpaca. I could also smell the lanolin in the wool. Mentally, I went on a mini-vacation to the hills in Bolivia and to the Andes mountains.
The next booth was Moroccan. All aboard the Marrakesh Express! I paused for a moment. The items that I saw instantly took me to a Moroccan Souq.
Next stop: India!
The fine clothing, fabrics and other textiles are simply beautiful. I got a welcome whiff of the food that a couple that were sitting in the next booth was eating. That booth was Pakistani. Many St. Louis local restaurants combine Pakistani / Indian food on the same buffets. The combination of an Indian bazaar (souq!) and a whiff of Pakistani food took me to the streets of Delhi.
_____________________
This link is the full schedule, festival map and other information.
(after the link loads, scroll down: This brochure has 11 pages.):
http://www.festivalofnationsstl.org/pdf/Festival-of-Nations-Program-2011.pdf
As an example, these countries were represented by booths in the food court:
Bengali
Congolese
Bolivian
Indian
Moroccan
Burmese
Russian
Canadian
Kenyan
Nepalese
Guatemalan
Chinese
Malian
Bhutanese
Ghanaian
Thai
Zimbabwean
Mexican
Iranian
Zambian
Ugandan
Senegalese
West African
Ecuadorian
American
Afghan
Hawaiian
Haitian
Vietnamese
Native American
Kurdish
Bulgarian
Argentine
Turkish
Jamaican
Ethiopian
Soul
Israeli
Bosnian
Cajun
Greek
Peruvian
Eritrean
Polish
Romanian
Filipino
Caribbean
Scottish
Malaysian
Nigerian
German
(...and there were 'multiples' of each cuisine! For example, there were 3 Peruvian, 3 Russian, 4 Mexican, 3 Polish food booths, and many multiples of others.)
Considering these choices, and that I am of the adventuresome persuasion, the task of selecting only one cuisine was daunting. I didn't want to choose Indian as our lunch, because we have Indian food at least once a week at one of the many local Indian restaurants. I also use Indian spices in my daily cooking.
We choose:
Eritean!
You ask, "HUH?" What the Hell is that?
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to explain! :)
"Eritean" is anything from the country of Eritrea. Eritrea is officially the State of Eritrea, and is a country in the Horn of Africa. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 45,406 square miles with an estimated population of 6 million.
Eritrea is located here:
I never knew this country existed, so I have definitely never heard of this cuisine.
Now that I stop and think about it, I want you to do a little test. I want you to count the number of people that you know that would readily approach a booth that served food from a country that they had never heard of, and blindly order a plate full of food from the menu, then eat every bite with great gusto. Do you have spare fingers left on that hand?
I have lived as "me" for so long that I don't often stop to realize that I am blessed to be in that minority. "That minority" is a small group of people that have never lost the curiosity of a child, and have never developed the self-induced calluses of adulthood and old age.
I have also come to the conclusion that the fact that I am an advanced level knitter and that I have taught myself to read music (Scott Joplin, Bach, Beethoven, as well as a LOT of popular music) in a short 2 years time are not gifts. Nobody "gave" them to me. Both of those accomplishments are the result of hard work and determination - pure and simple. The gifts that I have been given are not so apparent.
The curiosity that I have to constantly explore the world around me, and to do so with a strong sense of urgency: Now, that is a gift!
I learned from a very young age that the world is exponentially larger than the acreage that I occupy during my daily existence. That, too is a gift!
I have been spared the "jackals fighting over a bone" interaction that occurs between members of a family that serves to do nothing more than to provide the ego boost that they cannot otherwise provide for their psyches, and to fulfill the need to occupy themselves because they are too lazy to learn and master a serious hobby or skill. That is another gift.
These are not really 'gifts'. They are a part of a complicated bartering system that I have discussed in previous blogs. Whatever initiated that chain reaction, I am thankful for it, and I am ready for that 'next great adventure'.
You know.... There is one more day left to explore this festival. Which cuisine are you going to try?
____________________
Overheard while walking through the park (one guy talking to another):
"If you want to be adventuresome, go to a booth where the line is the SHORTEST!" (the food is least known by the general population)
_____________________
Things that I will not allow you to eat in my presence at such a gathering:
Corned beef & cabbage, spring rolls, crab rangoon. Well. Hell. As far as that goes - anything Americanized. The purpose of this adventure is to eat ANYTHING purely non-American. You can eat at McDonalds any other day!
Go forth, and live likewise. Time is a non-renewable resource. You aren't getting any younger, you know, and "I'll take time to do that (insert unknown date in the future)." is a form of lousy procrastination, and probably general laziness. For many of us, there won't be a (insert unknown date in the future).
There is still one more day to get to that festival.
(And if you miss it, the Japanese Fest at the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the Greek Fest at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church are both next weekend! You betcha - we will be in attendance.)
- Michael
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