Edmonton's Heritage Days

It's probably taken for granted by many Edmontonians- it's crowded, can be pricey, and the weather can be unpredictable... For me though, it is hands-down, my very favorite Edmonton festival!  Heritage Days is a showcase of Edmonton's cultural diversity.  There are ongoing cultural performances (dances, songs, etc.) at each country's pavilion as well as a sampling of some of their foods.  We spent the whole day there!

 Venezuela: Arepa (cornflour meal stuffed with beef, served with guasacaca sauce)

 Outside the Russian pavilion

 Nigeria: Suya (skewered and grilled marinated beef)

 Chinese dance performers and lion dance

 Bavarian-German dancers

 Afghanistan: Bolani (pan-fried dough stuffed with potatoes, green onions, spices and served with yogurt dip)

 Serbian dancers

 Iran: ice cream (saffron, pistachio, rose water)

 Chilean dancers

 Kenya: beef sambusa (seasoned ground beef with onions/spices in a pastry pocket), vegetable sambusa (potatoes, peas, carrots, lentils friend and season with onions/spices in a pastry pocket), mandazi (African donut)

 Korean dancers

 Irish dancers

 Cuba: pan con lechon (pulled pork sandwich with mojo criollo marinated pork)

 Indian dance performer

 Random- I ran into a college friend, Thy, who I haven't seen in 15 years!

 Scandinavian pavilion

 Taiwanese lion dance

 Ethiopian dancers

 Malaysia: salt and pepper ribs (marinated ribs sauteed in spices with onions and peppers)

 My mom helped to make the food for the Vietnam pavilion, so we dropped by (but of course we didn't purchase any of the food since my mom can make it for us!)

 Cambodian dancers

 Caribbean jerk chicken with rice

 Ecuadorian dancers

 Borneo: Nyanya Salad (cucumber, pineapple, mango with special sweet and sour sauce)

  Croatia: Croatian donut (fried dough with icing sugar)

I am so glad that our kids are pretty good eaters and are willing to try new things.  We intentionally tried a variety of foods that aren't as "common" in Fresno.  They also did a great job despite the heat and as we waited in lines and walked for hours.  Such a fantastic and fun (but tiring) day!