Once again Servus Heritage Festival is set to fire up taste buds during three days of global cooking and entertainment at Hawrelak Park.
Just reading the menu for more than 600 culinary delights is a strong prompter to attend.
Although food is the big attraction, the 41st festival edition running Saturday, July 30 to Monday, Aug. 1, also features live cultural performances, artisans’ crafts and historical highlights.
“This year we have 67 pavilions. It’s the most we’ve ever had,” said Deborah Forst, marketing director for Edmonton Heritage Festival Association.
“It just keeps getting bigger every year and more countries want to get involved.”
Puerto Rico is a new addition as is the Newcomer’s Pavilion, an umbrella tent for countries with a small local representation. The Newcomer’s Pavilion showcases Liberia, Barbados, Togo, Syria, Burundi and Mali.
As one of the province’s oldest heritage festivals it lives up to its rave reviews. On average it attracts nearly 400,000 visitors.
This much anticipated event has a genuine appeal that no other festival exudes. It simply unites our rich intercultural diversity allowing people of every race, religion, nationality and culture to rub elbows with each other.
“It’s a wonderful way to travel the world without leaving Edmonton. You see new cultures and meet people that love to eat new foods – especially from such a diverse menu,” Forst said.
Among the 600 food items are a series of authentically fried, barbecued, grilled and roasted meats and vegetables liberally seasoned with succulent herbs.
For the more adventurous foodie, a quick perusal of the menu reveals some intriguing exotic dishes. The Congo offers a spinach and peanut butter edible. Fiji is selling curried goat while Japan brings to the table takoyaki, an octopus dumpling.
Nicaragua introduces vigoron, boiled cassava root with trimmings and Peru’s cuisine includes antichuchos, marinated beef heart. Perhaps the most compelling is Sudan’s cow foot soup.
“People think we’re meat on a stick, but we’re a lot more than that.”
To start celebrations with a patriotic bow, new executive director Jim Gibbon has ushered in the O Canada Project. Gibbon tapped World FM Radio to broadcast the national anthem on Saturday as the clock strikes 12.
“Every pavilion will have a way to broadcast the music. And everyone will sing in their native language,” Forst said.
“Everyone will record it on their smart phones or whatever they like. Then they will send us clips and it will be edited into a montage and put on our Facebook page. It’s a quick turnaround and we hope to have it on Facebook by the end of Sunday.”
Forst added that anyone who wishes to participate, whether they are on a bus, in their back yard or at the lake, can tune in to World FM and send a tweet to #heritagefestocanada.
Also new this year is a small train that takes people with mobility issues from the park’s north end to the south.
Tickets for the festival are sold in sheets – 25 for $25. They are available at Save-On Foods, Servus Credit Union, Tix-on-the-Square and the Tapp Car app.
Public parking is unavailable at the park. The nearest ETS Park and Ride Location is at Calder on 124 Avenue and 124 Street off Yellowhead Trail.
Heritage Festival hours are Saturday, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Monday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
