Los Angeles Tofu Festival
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Los Angeles Tofu Festival, usually known as Tofu Festival or Tofu Fest, is a weekend matsuri held every August in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Tofu Festival's 2006 celebrations were held on August 12th and 13th along with Nisei Week.
Tofu is the primary ingredient of dishes and the cultural icon of the festival, which focuses on innovative Japanese and American cuisine within an obon-like atmosphere [1]. Due to Tofu Fest's wider cultural and commercial appeal, along larger funds to work with (Tofu Fest charges admission into its area [2]), it has outgrown Nisei Week's Street Arts Fair in booths — Tofu Fest's first fair had over 8,000 visitors [3] and over 26,000 visitors by 2004 [4].
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[edit] History and tradition
Invented by several LTSC board members as a theme for a food festival, Tofu Fest was approved by the LTSC in 1995 and added as a subcommittee to the Nisei Week Foundation, with support from the JACCC and sponsorship from Hinochi (now House Foods). Tofu Fest became the first festival in honor of tofu worldwide in 1996.[5] All proceeds go to the LTSC [6].
Tofu Festival uses annual themes, to both enhance the atmosphere and promote certain goals. A tofu block is Tofu Festival's mascot, which changes appearance and nickname depending on the year's theme.[7] The theme for 2006 is "It’s Hip to Be Square!", featuring the tofu block mascot wearing sunglasses and earrings. [8]
[edit] Attractions
[edit] Beer, Wine & Sake Garden
A selection of sake and beer is served in a sectioned off portion of Tofu Fest [9], supplementing Little Tokyo's own beer gardens and Nisei Week's attractions. The sale of alcohol was under debate by the festival's committee in 1994 in regards to making the festival more family friendly [10].
[edit] Celebrity Chefs
Famous chefs exhibit their craft on a cooking platform, with fair goers getting the chance to taste dishes from the demonstrations. Masaharu Morimoto of Iron Chef is a recurring guest, appearing in last year's 2006 festival. [11]
[edit] Children's Pavilion
Children were previously given an additional area to enjoy the festival [12], as parts of the festival, like the alcohol garden, were unsuitable. However, as of 2006, Children's Pavilion is no longer a featured event [13].
[edit] Entertainment Stage
Bands and artists appear live at the festival, ranging from instrumental groups, such as taiko and orchestra, to hip hop groups like Blackalicious [14].
[edit] Tofu Eating Contest
The tofu eating contest is a race to eat a 14-ounce block of tofu in the shortest amount of time. Several elimination rounds are held before the final battle and winner's ceremony, where a prize is given to the winner on the entertainment stage. [15]
[edit] External links
- Little Tokyo Service Center official website
- Nisei Week's official website
- Tofu Festival's official website
