by Guada Lopez Escobar
You need a food and feet survival kit to enjoy the ethnic food and dances offered by the 63 Pavilions scattered on the sprawling William Hawrelak Park where the 35th anniversary celebration of the Edmonton Heritage Festival is held every year, on the last day of July and the next early two days of August.
An empty stomach and a pair of sandals are necessary before you go to the park where you find yourself to be carried away by the display of various ethnic food and by the lilting music offered by the participating nations. The food is a culinary wonders. Try the coffee and food at the Iraq Pavilion; or try Oabuli Palau, ever-tasteful food offered at Afghanistan; Or the Arab’s Kafta Kohob, or Bangladish’s Chicken Byriani, or the Philippines Halo-Halo and Guatemala’s spicy mango; and savour Gulgula, Figi’s specialty; or Borneo’s spicy veggie noodles; and Nepal’s Furaula, just to name a few.
And start your footwork as you join the crowd dancing the Zorba the Great Dance at the Greek Pavilion; or your let your feet be caught by the two bamboo poles when you try the Philippine national dance, tinikling; or just try to be in a crowd when the Latino bands at Guatemala Pavilion start the music and you find yourself dancing colombia or salsa; and try to wiggle your hip when you join the dancers at the Polynesian Pavilion.
Historical and cultural discoveries exhibits can be found at the Iraq Pavilion. Myself, i looked at the exhibits of the Iraq history: Babylon, the Nineveh, and the Hanging Garden and other history information. I did the Iraqi costume and I sip the Iraqi black coffee. To history buffs, Nepal, Lao, Kenya, Eritrean, Fiji, Malaysia-Singapore, Taiwan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Portugal, Somali, Sudan, Taiwan, Uganda, Wales, Russia, Pakistan, the Philippines (through the courtesy of the Philippine Department of Tourism), Thailand and Vietnam have all the information you need to know about these countries. And if you plan to visit the country of your choice, you have already found some information to enjoy your holiday.
Furthermore, the exhibits in the pavilions will foster for more understanding about their people, their history and their rich cultural diversity. What caught my attention is the list of the missing women at the Aboriginal Pavilion.
The colorful Pavilions represented by 63 ethnic groups are so compact and easily accessible for everybody. And to the more than 500,000 local and foreign tourists who sweated out by the heat of the sun, by some hot food and by the feverish dancing,the festival has captured the wildest imagination of food lovers, dance aficionados, historians and artists. To amuse myself, I searched where I could see the longest lines during the festival: I jotted down: Guatemala, Iraq, Africa Oyi, Chinese, Malaysia-Singapore, the Philippines, Mexico, India, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam, Ukraine, Afghanistan . India, France, Portugal, Nicaraqua, Japan, German, Poland and Wales...and added to my list of longer lines: the ticket booths, and the women’s washroom.
The 3-day of savouring the food and dancing with the ethnic music is worth the trip. And I am looking forward to attend this festival of nations. And I will be there to enjoy the food, the dance and the music and I will immerse myself in the compendium of historical greatness of the participating countries. And I won’t complain paying $7 or $6 for an authentic ethnic food. You cannot put any price on fun and excitement and on a visceral experience.
And to add excitement this year, the Philippine Pavilion’s cultural show by the Karilagan Dance Society headed by Memen Chochingco won the 2nd prize award over-all. And the Edmontonions are lucky to have a special guest performing group from other province: the Culture Philippines of Ontario headed by Eleanor Kalash, the choreographer. And I have to congratulate all the CEFA officers, members and volunteers who work together to bring the best of our cultural heritage. Special kudos to Jose (Jun)Angeles, Jr. CEFA president,and his wife, Hermie; Wilf Ladores, chairman of the pavilion and adviser of CEFA; and other officers like Mandy Servito, Memen Cochingco, Freddie Ramos, Letty Tria, Josie Bilo, Lulu Bernal and to all volunteers. When hardworking people work together, the result is a good image of the Filipino community in Edmonton and beyond.
Edmonton Heritage Festival, indeed, is the mother of other festivals.
