Posted by Sheryl Kirby in events, events upcoming on August 22, 2008 at 3:29 pm
One of the hi-lights of last year’s summer festival season for me was the AfriVillage Fest, held on Bloor Street West between Crawford Street and Ossington Avenue. At last year’s festival, local businesses from this predominantly Ethiopian neighbourhood lined the street to demonstrate bits of African culture including food, music and even fashion.
Taking place this weekend, AfriVillage Fest promises to outdo its inaugural season last year.
In addition to about a dozen local Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants that include Lalibela (869 Bloor Street West), Dahlak (840 Bloor Street West) Adam (875 Bloor Street West) Assah (814 Bloor Street West) and Pero (812 Bloor Street West), there will be another 14 food vendors offering treats from Africa and the Caribbean. Okapi Restaurant (436 Dundas Street East) will offer the traditional foods of Congo, while Rosies Express offers treats from Ghana, Adiss catering will have Ethiopian cuisine, and Cico Amazon will have dishes from Ivory Coast and Togo.
The neighbourhood also boasts a few stores selling Ethiopian and Eritrean spices and ingredients, so expect to see them with displays set up in front of their shops so that visitors to the festival can buy the necessary items to recreate the dishes they’ve tried at home.
Event organizer Helen encourages visitors to check out the injera bread which is traditional to Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine, as well as a spicy beef or vegetarian stew to go with it. “People should also try plantain, cassava, and jerk chicken - which is part of west African and Caribbean cuisine,” she suggests.
Last year’s event featured entertainment and performances from a number of cultures, and visitors can expect more of the same this year with performers from Ghana and Somalia, as well as a number of west African drum groups.
A drumming and dancing workshop was a popular feature last year, and this year will see the addition of an African headwrap workshop as well as African cooking demonstrations.
The non-African member of the local community also take part, so expect to see offerings from the local Greek restaurants and Portuguese bakeries alongside Ethiopian coffee ceremonies.
AfriVillage Fest runs Saturday August 23rd and Sunday August 24th.
