Los Angeles Tofu Festival
Encyclopedia
Los Angeles Tofu Festival, usually known as Tofu Festival or Tofu Fest, was a weekend matsuri held every August in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles from 1995 to 2007. Due to ongoing redevelopment in Little Tokyo there is no longer enough space to hold a festival of the size of Tofu Fest, and it has been canceled indefinitely, the last festival being held in 2007.
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 http://tofufest.org/mainpage.html. Due to Tofu Fest's wider cultural and commercial appeal, and larger funds to work with (Tofu Fest charges admission into its area http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/attendee_info/tofu_festival_frequently_asked_questions/), it has outgrown Nisei Week's Street Arts Fair in booths — Tofu Fest's first fair had over 8,000 visitors http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/history_of_the_tofu_festival/ and over 26,000 visitors by 2004 http://www.ladowntownnews.com/articles/2004/07/19/entertainment/entertainment02.txt.
Week Foundation with support from the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) and sponsorship from Hinochi (now House Foods). Tofu Fest became the first festival in honor of tofu worldwide in 1996.http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/history_of_the_tofu_festival/ All proceeds go to the LTSC http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/press_releases/.
Tofu Festival used 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.http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/history_of_the_tofu_festival/ The theme for 2006 was "It’s Hip to Be Square!", featuring the tofu block mascot wearing sunglasses and earrings. http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/press_releases/
was served in a sectioned off portion of Tofu Fest http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/vendors/beer_wine_sake_garden/, 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 http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/history_of_the_tofu_festival/.
of Iron Chef
was a recurring guest, appearing in the 2006 festival. http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/entertainment/cooking_stage/
and orchestra
, to hip hop
groups like Blackalicious
http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/entertainment/cooking_stage/.
Tofu
Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
is the primary ingredient of dishes and the cultural icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
of the festival, which focuses on innovative Japanese
Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...
and American cuisine
Cuisine of the United States
American cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from the United States of America. European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter...
within an obon
Obón
Obón is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 75 inhabitants....
-like atmosphere http://tofufest.org/mainpage.html. Due to Tofu Fest's wider cultural and commercial appeal, and larger funds to work with (Tofu Fest charges admission into its area http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/attendee_info/tofu_festival_frequently_asked_questions/), it has outgrown Nisei Week's Street Arts Fair in booths — Tofu Fest's first fair had over 8,000 visitors http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/history_of_the_tofu_festival/ and over 26,000 visitors by 2004 http://www.ladowntownnews.com/articles/2004/07/19/entertainment/entertainment02.txt.
History and tradition
Invented by several Little Tokyo Service Center (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 NiseiNisei
During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...
Week Foundation with support from the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) and sponsorship from Hinochi (now House Foods). Tofu Fest became the first festival in honor of tofu worldwide in 1996.http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/history_of_the_tofu_festival/ All proceeds go to the LTSC http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/press_releases/.
Tofu Festival used 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.http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/history_of_the_tofu_festival/ The theme for 2006 was "It’s Hip to Be Square!", featuring the tofu block mascot wearing sunglasses and earrings. http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/press_releases/
Beer, Wine & Sake Garden
A selection of sake and beerBeer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
was served in a sectioned off portion of Tofu Fest http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/vendors/beer_wine_sake_garden/, 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 http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/history_of_the_tofu_festival/.
Celebrity Chefs
Famous chefs exhibit their craft on a cooking platform, with fair goers getting the chance to taste dishes from the demonstrations. Masaharu MorimotoMasaharu Morimoto
is a well-known Japanese chef, best known as the third Iron Chef on the Japanese TV cooking show Iron Chef, and an Iron Chef on its spinoff, Iron Chef America. He is also known for his unique style of presenting food....
of Iron Chef
Iron Chef
is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1992, is a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle built around a specific theme ingredient. The series ended...
was a recurring guest, appearing in the 2006 festival. http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/entertainment/cooking_stage/
Children's Pavilion
Children were previously given an additional area to enjoy the festival http://acs.apanet.org/calendar/item.tcl?calendar_id=17, as parts of the festival, like the alcohol garden, were unsuitable. After 2006, Children's Pavilion was no longer a featured event http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/news_general/press_releases/.Entertainment Stage
Bands and artists appear live at the festival, ranging from instrumental groups, such as taikoTaiko
means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...
and orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, to hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
groups like Blackalicious
Blackalicious
Blackalicious is an American hip hop duo from Sacramento, California made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel . They are noted for Gift of Gab's often "tongue-twisting", multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's "classic" beats...
http://www.tofufestival.com/tofuindex/tofufest/entertainment/cooking_stage/.