What’s Going On?

The first ever Eat Real Festival was held at Jack London Square in one of Oakland’s most famous historic places. The event spanned over a three day period, but there were a few events held that led up to major festivities. Friday at the festival was pretty much an ice cream night with a late night film. Saturday was an all day event where everyone can enjoy live performances, foods galore, a farmers market, cooking demonstrations and talks, a beer shed, a butchery contest, scenic views of the marina, and local shopping at the outdoor mall. Sunday was a shorter day, but still filled with good food and live music.

I visited the festival on Saturday and the day started off in extreme heat. I’m not use to hot weather so any opportunity that I had to take shelter under some shade or inside a building was the key to staying cool and away from heat exhaustion. As I entered the festival near about the time the festival started lines for food vendors started building up and crowds of people came swarming in. The amount of diverse representation of foods and desserts at the festival were mind boggling.

Compared to San Francisco’s Street Food Festival that took place a week before the Eat Real Festival, the festival was able to accommodate the amount of people that showed up. Jack London Square proved to be a venue where many people can come to check out local good eats without having to wait astronomical amounts of time for food. San Francisco also had to cram everything within one block so that didn’t help things. The food festival at Jack London Square was about two blocks long, utilizing the waterfront, the water fountain plaza, and the newly soon to be farmers market building.

Performances on the music and film stage were also diverse. Different types of music performed or played on stage ranged from Hip Hop to contemporary Pop. They had a small orchestra, dancers, and even a guy playing a shovel (make-shift guitar) on stage.

Some people took advantage from the heat by going inside the new farmers market building to check out local grown fruits and vegetables, as well as other goodies. Only the ground floor was open to the public with two aisles of vendors. A small indoor theater was created for visitors and a couple street food vendors set up shop inside also.

The food at the festival was reasonably priced between $1-$5 per portion. Of the food that I was able to try, they were pretty good. I loved the idea of this festival that I hope to see more festivals like this more often. One huge benefit that I saw this festival having was the fact that a large amount of diversity can be brought to one location where you’re given endless choices of food to decide on eating. I think the next time I come to a festival like this I will come with a huge appetite because everything looked so good to eat, but the stomach can only take so much in.

In no particular order, the following is a list of food vendors that represented at the festival: Zella’s Soulful Kitchen, Sam’s Chowder Van, Chaac Mool, Estrellita’s Snacks, Los Cilantros, Urban Nectar, Pizza Politana, Botanas , elicitas, Gobba Gobba Hey, Phatt Matt’s BBQ, Sweetface Bakery, 5e5 : Farinata on Wheels, SF Pie Truck, Wholesome Bakery, Nieves Cinco de May, El Porteno, The Creme Brulee Cart, Gelateria Cici, Roli Roti, Ritual Coffee Roasters, Localicious, 4505 Meats, Saul’s Restaurant & Delicatessen, Liba Falafel Truck, Oren’s Kitchen, Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County: Taste of Home, Tim Luym From Poleng Lounge, Soul Cocina, Amuse Bouche, Los Angeles de Pueblas Frutas, Laloo’s, Adobo Hobo, Aisu Pop, Gerard’s Paella, Sexy Soup Cart, Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q, Chop Bar, Seoul on Wheels, Straus Family Creamery, Jon’s Street Eats, Fruit Cart by Cecilia Lopez, Pepito’s Ice Cream, Amanda’s Feel Good Fresh Food, Shuga Hill Catering, Fat Bottom Bakery, Yanet’s Desserts, and Kara’s Cupcakes.

More information on the Eat Real Festival can be found here.

Photos from the Eat Real Festival can be viewed by clicking the image link above.

So I took another trip to the San Francisco Food Bank this year and I can say that it is not dull. Every time that I’ve been at the food bank there is always something different to do, never have I done the same thing twice. As stated in a previous post which can be read here, the SF Food Bank is located in Potrero Hill. The food bank is housed inside of a very nice contemporary warehouse where canned, dry food, fresh produce, and frozen foods are stored. According to the food bank about 133,000 people are fed through various programs throughout the city. Mostly funded through contributions from corporations, the food bank also takes public and private donations as well.

On this trip to the food bank, I volunteered with a couple of my friends who were with The Children’s Place. I had volunteered with them before on my last visit to the bank. The tasks that we were asked to do on this visit were to separate out bad tomatoes from the good tomatoes. Some of the bad tomatoes were rotten, bruised, molded, and pierced. A majority of the tomatoes were not ripe yet and almost resembled apples in terms of color and firmness. Some tomatoes were already ripe and ready to eat. While sorting through the tomatoes we then boxed up the good tomatoes and stack them on a pallet.

Once all of the volunteers finished seperating and packaging the tomatoes, we moved onto a different room to package out oatmeal. In another room we weighed out oatmeal in one pound bags and then sealed and labeled the bags. We shipped out 24 bags to one box and stacked them too onto a pallet. As everything was being accomplished in a timely manner, the time for volunteers to end all tasks eventually came to an end. As volunteers worked, the time passed very quickly through conversations and listening to music. Some groups wanted to keep on working. To some volunteers, including myself, there seems to be some sort of accomplishment when trying to compete with each other to see who can package out the most items. In some way it is like a game and whoever achieves more wins. In the end we are all winners, but I think if there was no set time to leave a few would continue to stay and work.

If you are interested in helping the food bank, there are many opportunities that you can be a part of. Volunteer days are seven days a week during the daytime and evenings are Tuesday through Thursday only. Specific times to volunteer is located on their web-page. Bring a group if you can, they can accommodate groups of up to 80 people. If you cannot bring a group, you can come individually as well. Being able to volunteer at the San Francisco Food Bank is just a wonderful experience and I encourage you all to take part in giving back to the community and help and serve those that need us.

The SF Street Food Fest was a huge success. A large number of people showed up to this event by the truckload. The festival was held within one city block and it was packed. Food and drink vendors lined Folsom Street between 25th and 26th Streets with visitors from all over who came to embark on tasting some of the finest foods that San Francisco can offer. People waited in line as much as 30-45 minutes just to get a taste.

Food prices ranged from $3-$8 and non-alcoholic drinks for around $3. Guests had the option to purchase food passports which enabled them to easily pay for food without having to scrounge for cash. A benefit of buying a passport in denominations of $50+ (in $25 increments) is that you can receive complimentary food/drink or both depending on the amount. Proceeds from the food and drink and also a silent auction will help benefit La Cocina, which is a non-profit food organization that provides affordable commercial kitchen resources enabling assistance to low-income and immigrant entrepreneurs.

Food vendors that participated this year in the event were Absinthe, Aziza, Bi-Rite Creamery, Chaac Mool, Delfina/Pizzeria Delfina, El Buen Comer, El Huarache Loco, Endless Summer Sweets and Ritual Roasters Coffee, Estrellita’s Snacks, Heaven’s Dog/Slanted Door, Kasa Indian Eatery, Laiola, La Mar Cebicheria, Onigilly, Poleng Lounge, Sabores del Sur, and Zella’s Soulful Kitchen.

Click on the picture link above to view pictures of the San Francisco Street Food Festival.

The Asian Women’s Resource Center’s (AWRC) Gum Moon Women’s Residence celebrates their 25th anniversary. The annual benefit dinner was hosted by the Far East Cafe. The AWRC is a ministry of the Methodist Church and was created to meet the needs of women and children providing skills, empowerment, and building up of the self during transitions in their lives.

The benefit dinner is held every year to raise funds for the Center. Contributions through purchasing tables, live auctions, silent auctions, raffle tickets, and purchasing merchandise throughout the dinner help in reaching the needs to funding the organization.

The night consisted of a couple performances by local groups (singing, skits, cultural dances), an awards ceremony with dignitaries and sponsors, a fashion show by Orange Caterpillar (Peter Lou) and Max Nugas (represented by Doris Him Grover), and all the fundraising activities.

For more information on the Gum Moon Women’s Residence a part of the Asian Women’s Resource Center click here.

Click on the picture link above to view pictures of the AWRC’s Annual Benefit Dinner.

San Mateo was host to the 75th Annual San Mateo County Fair. This year’s theme was “The Peninsula’s Festival”. Located at the San Mateo Fairgrounds, the fair hosted a carnival, arts and crafts exhibits, livestock competitions, pig races, foods galore, stage performances and acts, and premium artists concerts.

Artists that attended this year’s fair include names such as Arrested Development, Shane Dwight, War, Tower of Power, Boyz II Men, The Guess Who, Dia de la Feria Preciosa, and a Pink Floyd Laser Show Spectacular.

I attended the fair on Wednesday and it’s been about a year since I’ve gone back to a county fair. I really enjoyed my time there because I was entertained nonstop. There were about four or so small stages throughout the fairgrounds and each stage had something going on. Most of the stages had guest music bands who performed for us all, playing anything from Country to Rock and Roll.

Several things that I got to see were the pig races, a Chinese acrobatic group, musical performances by local bands, a crazy mascot running all around the fairgrounds, a swine judging competition, amazing artwork, a hypnotist show, and the main stage performance.

Wednesday night’s feature concert on the main stage was Tower of Power. Tower of Power is a lively upbeat funk jazz group that rocks my socks. This band has been around for over 40 years and is still going on strong, yes some of the members are switched out, but who cares? They still pump out great beats and they sure do get the audience riled up.

One thing that I learned through this fair was that the swine judging contest is bittersweet. Children from various ranches tend to pigs, cattle, and other livestock. What I did not know is that these kids help raise these animals from youth till they are full grown. The thing that is bittersweet about the whole situation is that the livestock is judge 1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place and so on and after the kids win their awards the livestock is then sold off at auction to meet their inevitable fate. Having known this I asked someone if it’s sad to the kids that raise them and I was told that no they are not saddened. They go into raising them knowing that they will inevitably sold off and used for consumption. For myself, I was a little held back at that, but then again we all do need to eat. For some they see this as animal cruelty, but now knowing how things are it’s just a way of life for some people.

Overall the fair was amazing and I spent hours upon hours enjoying every minute of the fair. A few things that I do regret is walking and standing pretty much the whole day. The other disappointment was that the Tower of Power Concert was filled to capacity, everyone was waiting to get in, but couldn’t. Some people left the concert to do something outside of the building, but although were given a wristband they had no use, admission was still denied. I think in the future the main stage should be built in the parking lot so that more people can attend and enjoy the concerts because that is one of the main reasons to come to the fair and why people purchase tickets. If you still get the chance the California State Fair is still going on till Labor Day so if you want to check out some cool fun take a trip on up to Sacramento.

Click on the picture link above to view pictures of the San Mateo County Fair.

Hasbro’s Candy Land, an iconic game almost every American has played at least once while growing up celebrates 60 years. For this anniversary celebration Hasbro had turned Lombard Street, which is San Francisco’s iconic landmark known to be “The World’s Crookedest Street”, into a giant Candy Land gameboard.

Children from the UCSF Children’s Hospital were invited to attend and play a game on this real life sized game. Even the colored game pieces were large, just imagine trying to shuffle the deck before the game. The children were divided up into four teams. Team colors were red, blue, green and yellow. As the cards were drawn the teams travelled down the hill any means possible. Some children ran down the hill, some skipped, some walked, and even some slid down the hill on their stomachs.

Along the gameboard were three Candy Land characters. King Kandy, Princess Lolly and Princess Frostine. They stood in their respective positions (Princess Frostine at Snowflake Lake, Princess Lolly in the Lollipop Woods, and King Kandy up the road from Candy Castle) on the gameboard until the children had passed their spots on the board. After all the children passed these locations each of three characters accompanied one of the teams. The team to finally reach the winning square was the yellow team. The team was congratulated with a hailstorm of confetti and lots of jumping up and down.

Following the game, the four teams gathered around the Candy Land decorated birthday cake and celebrated Candy Land’s birthday by singing “Happy Birthday”. The cake was vanilla flavored with a chocolate filling and covered in a fondant. Children took home a game of Candy Land and a bag filled with their selection of candies.

Pictures are added to the gallery click picture link above.

The Stern Grove Festival has been held in San Francisco for 72 consecutive years. The concerts at Stern Grove are always free, but not cost free. The festival is funded by corporate sponsors as well as sponsors like you. The festival costs an estimated $2 million. Stern Grove can be found on the corner of Sloat Blvd. and 19th Ave. and concerts are on Sundays at 2pm.

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to check out the San Francisco Ballet. Of the ten performances at Stern Grove the concert of choice would have been the San Francisco Symphony. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Symphony, but I am glad to have attended the ballet. It was something different and something out of my comfort zone that I was able to enjoy. Although ballet is not on my top ten things to see I’m glad that I experienced a little taste of it. If you ask me to give it another try, I think I would. It might be something

The ballet was divided into three parts with two intermissions. The first selection was On a Theme of Paganini. The second piece was Swan Lake, Act II. The third piece was Stravinsky Violin Concerto. Martin West conducted all pieces.

The last performance in the festival will be this coming Sunday. The San Francisco Opera will be performing and will begin promptly at 2pm. I advise that you get there really early if you wish to see the performance. Seating is limited in the grove, but there is additional seating behind the pavilion. If you wish to see the performance and get there late bring a towel or blanket to sit on as you will have to sit on the dirt on the hill. Visibility is limited in the hills due to the tree branches. Most importantly, bring something to drink and a hat and sun screen is optional, but advisable. Have fun and enjoy.

Martin West conducts the orchestra

On a Theme of Paganini

Swan Lake, Act II

Stravinsky Violin Concerto

Conductor Martin West and Violinist Franklyn D'Antonio

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The J-Pop Summit Festival was held in San Francisco’s Japantown on August 15, 2009. The festival was hosted by a “Lolita/Gothic” clothing store called New People. The festival’s main purpose was to celebrate the store’s grand opening in San Francisco as well as to promote awareness in other areas of Japanese pop culture. The festival took place on Post St. and was two blocks long from Webster St. to Laguna St.

The festival was filled with all sorts of Japanese inspired entertainment. In Peace Plaza there was a Harajuku Makeover Contest, Japan Nite Special Girls Rock Explosion (feat. Red Bacteria Vacuum, noodles, Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re, and Omodaka), and a Harajuku Kawaii Dance Party. I was able to catch most of the Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re show. They are a three person all girl rock band and they are known for many songs, but what I have come to know them from is from their ending theme song to the ever popular Powerpuff Girls. The song is now performed by a Scottish rock band called Bis, but before Bis sang the song Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re rocked it out with their very first English song.

In front of the New People store on the J-Pop Summit Stage was a Gothic and Lolita fashion show featuring clothing from Baby, The Stars Shine Bright and Black Peace Now! Lolita fashion is a Japanese styled wardrobe focused around the Rococo and Victorian era. More information on Lolita fashion can be found here.

Inside the New People store, designer Ms.Kumiko Uehara and model Ms.Misako Aoki showed off their clothing line as well as took part in a meet and greet. Artist Yoshitaka Amano also was present for the grand opening of New People to promote his art gallery as well hold a private autograph session for select individuals. Yoshitaka Amano is a well known artist in Japan and is familiarly notable for character designs for the role playing game Final Fantasy.

On Post St. various Japanese vendors promoted anime/manga, Japanese media, Japanese inspired clothing and gifts, corporate sponsor booths, and food. I had the chance to try some interesting foods, but the most interesting yet delicious snack I had was the rice cake balls covered in a teriyaki styled sauce. In the festival’s information booth artist Yuichi Yokoyama signed autographs for visitors to the festival, if you were special he drew a little piece of art for you as well as his autograph. Yuichi Yokoyama is an artist that designed a lot of the artwork that was present at the festival even the J-Pop Summit Festival poster.

Following the festivities a special premiere feature film called 20th Century Boys (part of a trilogy) was presented in a theater located in the basement of the New People store.

On Friday night CAAM (Center for Asian American Media) and the Japantown Merchants Association hosted a free screening of Kamikaze Girls a film by Tetsuya Nakashima in Japantown’s Peace Plaza to welcome the store New People to San Francisco. The film was to kick off the beginning of the 2009 J-Pop Summit Festival.

The free screening was set up outdoors with limited white folding chair seating. Overflow guests were still allowed to come, but they would have to stand and/or sit on the floor or other permanent fixtures in the plaza.

Prior to the screening there were five contestants who dressed up in Lolita styled clothing. Basically Lolita fashion is a Japanese styled wardrobe focused around the Rococo and Victorian era. More information on Lolita fashion can be found here.

Kamikaze Girls is a comedy surrounding two girls who come from different backgrounds, one who loved buying fancy Lolita styled clothing and the other a wannabe biker chick who rides a scooter. Throughout the movie their bond proves to show that friendship knows no bounds and they become the best of friends. In the movie, the main character Momoko Ryugasaki even gets the opportunity to embroider a Lolita dress.

The night was cold and the fingers numb, but a subtitled Asian film in the middle of Japantown’s Peace Plaza outdoors was priceless.

Five Contestants Compete for Best Dressed

People bundle up on a cold night to watch Kamikaze Girls

The film is featured in Japantown's Peace Plaza underneath the Peace Plaza Pagoda.

The 36th Annual Nihonmachi Street Fair took to the streets of Japantown in San Francisco on Post St. between Fillmore and Laguna Streets. The Nihonmachi Street Fair is one that brings the community together with many non-profit organizations running the show. Geared toward the public awareness of Asian Pacific Americans the fair hosts many cultural displays and shows for the public to view.

The festival this year had demonstrations of hula, lion dancing, taiko drumming, and music from various artists of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Throughout the festival, vendors sold anything from teriyaki burgers to bonzai trees to flashy Asian jewelry. For the children,  a section of the fair was reserved for them to play in the Kiddie Carnival. Here they could take part in winning prizes by playing home crafted games like ring toss, tic-tac-toe, and other various midway games.

The fair was held over the weekend of August 8th and 9th. The Nihonmachi Street Fair in comparison to the Cherry Blossom Festival that’s held earlier in the year is much smaller. The scale of vendors and events are probably about 30% less and the attendance is relative to that change in number also. However, though the fair may be a smaller scale of most Asian festivals the fair is very relaxing and less crowded. Being in the presence of fewer people makes the fair much more enjoyable. The beautiful weather and the abundance of vacant seats allows for one relaxing weekend to shop, eat, and be entertained.

When coming to next years fair, be sure to check out the Japantown Peace Plaza. There you can watch various ethnic shows. Sit down and enjoy. If you’re hungry there are tons of restaurants and street food to eat. Bring your family and friends and help the community by supporting the vendors and the various community centers that are represented there.