Food Festival What-to-do
July 15th, 2009 by Owen Jones, under Travel and Leisure. No Comments
So you are in the food festival now. The sights are great, the sound is excellent; heck the air is tasty as it is, permeated with the sweet smell of fruit, fish, cheese or anything which is the theme of the area. But you stand there, in the center of the crowd, not knowing what to do. What the heck, you ask yourself “Why am I even here?”
A food festival is a great way for you to be able to acquaint yourself with the art of food crafting. There are a lot of things you can learn from, like what to do during a fair or a festival; how do you manage a food table (and avoid itchy hands from reaching in and grabbing some of your food stuff). You could also do with knowing what foods to serve and not to serve; of course, this is all in the off chance that you are interested with food crafting.
If it isn’t your thing, then there are other things you can do in a food festival aside from just thinking solely about business. For one thing, you are in a food festival, right? So buy food items in bulk (just make sure you are going to actually eat or use said items). Ingredients like varied root crops, fish, or meat are well sold in this place, and you get freshness. You also get inexpensiveness, for as long as it is in bulk. Try and acquaint yourself with the people behind the counter as well. Knowing them is knowing what you buy. Who knows, you could even strike a bigger discount and make a new friend.
You are able to acquire pertinent information in regards to the item that you have recently purchased; which is quite a sound deal comparing to just your regular trip to the super market. Breakthroughs and discoveries are usually started in one of these gatherings, so if you are there, then you have access to the information first hand. An avid cook would consider this a great new find, and amateurs would find this a great big help.
For people with both a huge appetite for food, adventure and living; the food festival is a god-send. The whole affair is a big dream for them because it combines two of the best things about food; knowledge for food, and the food itself. The venue also invites people of common interest so it makes for a nice meeting with other people of the same beat. The things you will know and experience will help you in your daily living, so why not try and visit sometimes?
Imbuing Culture in your Crafts
June 25th, 2009 by Owen Jones, under Travel and Leisure. No Comments
One of the biggest factors that make people buy things in craft shows is because they are tourists in the area. They understandably want to have a physical object that will help them remember the place they went to once they’re back home. Therefore, it is a good idea for any craftsperson to check the location of the next show, and let his or her works be influenced by the culture of the place. If you attend craft shows and you grew up in the area, this wouldn’t be too much of a problem. But what if you are a visitor here, too?
If you are not from the area where the craft show is held, then chances are you will not have a direct affinity with the culture of the place. But this can be developed over time. Check out the works of your fellow craftspeople attending the event, and try to make friends with them. Getting close to some of them will rub off on you, and you may start to exude some of their culture over time.
That won’t do the trick by itself, of course. The only way to understand the culture of a place is to spend some time in it. Don’t hole yourself up in your booth for the duration of your stay. Explore the place in its entirety; have a short break, and look for interesting things that you can do there. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll pick up a few things.
When everything has been said and done, you’ll have to go “back to the lab” and try to integrate their culture with your own unique signature. Don’t try to lose your identity in the process! Let your techniques be influenced, but don’t try to outright copy the feel of the crafts that came from that culture.
In the end, you must always remember to avoid forcing anything. Don’t be too alarmed if your piece ends up without the feel that you wanted it to have for that culture; if you bash the culture in, you’ll end up destroying both that and your personal touch. In my opinion, the soul of an item makes it all the more desirable for people to touch and buy. But you just can’t have a soul for the object if you force the craft.