What do you get when you take the cultural diversity of the West Side, and promote it with an event that highlights all of the ethnic foods that represent the different countries of origin?
Between the food trucks, the restaurants, the bazaar and the markets, the West Side is a mecca when it comes to culinary creations. Last year the festival attracted the likes of The Gypsy Parlor, Lucy Ethiopian, Sweet Hearth Food Truck, Pure Peru, Press Raw Food and Juice, Just Community at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, Boualivone Serixay, Jewel of India, Rolling Joe Food Truck, Taste of Puerto Rico and William ‘Koop’, among others.
This year’s food vendors and menu include:
- Abyssinia Ethiopian Cuisine: Ethiopian Ethnic Food
- Boualivone Serixay: papaya salad, samosa, pad thai, egg rolls, bubble tea, sesame cookie
- Exotic Japanese Foods: samosa, chickpeas, chicken
- Flaming Fish Tent: fried haddock and whiting fish, jambalaya rice, black eyed peas, fried cabbage, homemade pound cake
- Freddy J’s BBQ: traditional barbecue fare
- Gypsy Parlor: stuffed bread and gypsy juice
- Jewel of India: chicken makani, chana saag, rice, samosa, gulab jamun, jelebie, mango juice
- Jolie’s Chinese Traditional Food: dumplings, meat pies, crepes, egg rolls, herbal tea
- Lucy Ethiopian: Ethiopian ethnic food
- Press Raw Foods & Juice: cold press juices, organic raw foods
- Public Espresso + Coffee: coffee drinks
- Pure Peru: ceviche, tamales, stuffed potatoes, empanadas, chicken
- Salvation Army: pastelilllos and bacalaitos
- SOLE of Buffalo: hot manakish rolls
- Taste of Africa: soul food and African dishes
- Taste of Puerto Rico: pastelillos, pinchos (chicken on a stick), yellow rice, desserts
- The Whole Hog: humanely raised heritage pork, seasonal local vegetables and fruit
“The Taste of Diversity is a unique, grassroots festival,” says Jennifer Silverman, festival organizer. “It embodies the diversity that is so great about the West Side, the city of Buffalo, our local businesses and the amazing food we have here!”
“While the festival is a tremendous opportunity for local businesses to make themselves known outside of Grant-Ferry, it has the feel of a block party highlighting the primarily minority and women-owned businesses behind the West Side’s revitalization,” says Esther Pica, owner of Press Raw Foods.
Add a mix of events and productions throughout the day, and you’ve got a 2014 schedule that looks something like this:
11:00am to 11:20am |
Fleuron Rouge |
Dance Belly Dance |
11:30am to 12:15pm |
Star Jam |
Band East Indian Music |
12:30pm to 1:15pm |
Ahavarababand |
Band Klezmer Music |
1:30pm to 3:00pm |
Jazz Bugs |
Band 20’s & 30’s Jazz |
3:15pm to 3:45pm |
Shakti and Diaspora Drummers |
Dance and Drum African |
4:00pm to 4:50pm |
Foxy Diamonzds |
Dance |
4:30pm to 4:50pm |
Tigreña |
Dance Tango |
5:00pm to 5:30pm |
Baila Salsa |
Dance Salsa & Bachata lesson & performance |
5:30pm to 6:45pm |
Azucar |
Band Salsa, Bachata, Meregue |
According to festival organizers, “over 70 different languages are spoken in the 14213 zip code.” To think that this diversity has come to the West Side in a matter of just a few short years is astounding.
“[The event] builds on the diversity of the West Side as a strength,” says Kathy Kinan, President of the Grant-Ferry Association. “The involvement of recently arrived and established refugees and immigrants gives the festivities a truly grassroots feel.”
Buffalo’s 12th annual Taste of Diversity Festival | Saturday, June 28 from 11:00 am through 7:00 pm | Grant Street, between Lafayette and Auburn Avenues | Admission and entertainment are free | food and merchandise are for sale |For more information, visit www.tasteofdiversity.org.