There are many ways to express “welcome,” but food is the universal language of hospitality and sharing cultural traditions. This year, the theme of the 74th annual Holiday Folk Fair International is “Celebrating the Culture of Welcome,” and 21 ethnic groups will welcome attendees to try their cuisine at The World Café, a long-time component of the Folk Fair that offers a wide assortment of delicacies for all palates.
The featured food at this year’s event will be bread, and the ethnic groups participating in The World Café will offer items made with different types of bread.
Attendees can find familiar favorites including Arab falafel sandwiches, Chinese egg rolls, French crepes, German potato pancakes with sausage and applesauce, Irish corned beef sandwiches and soda bread, and Mexican tamales. Those yearning to taste outside the box will appreciate choices such as Czech hovězí s koprovou omáčkou (beef with dill gravy, dumplings and carrots), Filipino pancit (noodles) sampler, Greek kourambiethes (powdered sugar cookies), Indian aloo-chole (chickpea and potato curry) with rice, Native American wojape (fry bread with fruit toppings), Senegalese thiou (tomato Stew with chicken), Ugandan smoked grilled masala chicken legs, or Vietnamese lotus cookies.
New to Holiday Folk Fair International this year is the Nepali group. Bhupendra Bista, president of Milwaukee Nepali Pariwar, said some families in the organization had participated in the Folk Fair to some degree in the past. This year, he and the organization’s board agreed to have a larger presence. The Nepali menu includes momo, a dumpling dish popular in Nepal.
“Any time I go back there, I eat momo almost every day,” Bista said. For the Folk Fair, the momos will be filled with chicken, onion, cabbage, salt and chili, served with a tomato-based seasoned sauce. The Nepali chow mein features noodles with chicken or vegetables, and cabbage, onion, green peas and carrots. Bista said dal is the Nepalese word for soups or stew prepared with lentils, and their World Café booth will offer dal with chicken, or a vegetarian version with cauliflower and potato, served with steamed white rice.
“Every Nepalese household eats dal,” Bista said.
Another food related component of this year’s Folk Fair includes a young chefs cooking demonstration, performed by some participants of the American Culinary Federation Chefs (ACF) of Milwaukee’s kids’ culinary summer camps. Lisa McKay, owner of Lisa Kaye Catering and chair of the ACF chef and child program, leads the kids’ culinary summer camp, where approximately 60 children ages 7 to 16 participate. “The kids have been working on ethnic cuisines all summer long,” said McKay. “They’ve been studying cultures and will prepare southwestern dishes, French crepes, Italian and Asian food.”
Whether you have traditional or adventurous tastes, chances are you won’t leave hungry from this year’s Holiday Folk Fair International.
The 2017 Holiday Folk Fair International runs Nov. 17 - Nov. Adult tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the gate. For more information, visit folkfair.org or call 414-225-6225.
