Community, Park Forest

“World Dumpling Fest” to Celebrate Chicago’s Vibrant Cultures Through Food, Music and Art on Sunday, Sept. 23

World Dumpling Fest
(Image Provided)

30+ Local and Global Cultural Music, Arts, Restaurants and Performance Groups Converge for a Day of Cultural Celebration at Navy Pier Polk Bros Performance Lawns

CHICAGO—(ENEWSPF)—September 18, 2018
Contact: Emily Reusswig

This Sunday, September 23rd World Dumpling Fest returns to celebrate local and global culture, produced by the Chicago Cultural Alliance in collaboration with World Music Festival Chicago at Navy Pier’s Polk Bros. Park Performance Lawns (600 E. Grand Ave.).  The event will take place from 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and is for all ages.

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The event will feature dumplings of the world from 10 neighborhood-based ethnic restaurants in the Chicago region including Pierogis from Kasia’s Deli, Gyozas from Kamehachi, Empanadas from Café Tola, Spatzle from Himmel’s, Saku Sai Moo from Herb, Bao and Sui Mai from Friendship Restaurant, Sambusas from Ethiopian Diamond, Tamales from Dia de los Tamales, Coxinha de Galinha and Bolinho de Aipim from Sinhá, and Varenyky from Tryzub Ukrainian Kitchen.

Additional happenings will feature cultural artists and centers selling goods including Trickster Art Gallery, Artenimai, Artes Gemelas, Glass Sense, Sevim Surucu, and Studio 3311 and maker activities for all ages from local cultural heritage museums National Cambodian Heritage Museum, Chinese American Museum, Swedish American Museum, and Chicago Japanese American Historical Society.

General admission is FREE. Dumpling Passes are: $10 for a 3-Dumpling Tasting Pass, and $25 for a 9-Dumpling Tasting Pass. For complete details visit: www.ChicagoCulturalAlliance.org/WorldDumplingFest.

The event will feature a number of international bands curated by World Music Festival Chicago starting at 1 until 7:30 p.m. Music highlights include Jupiter and Okwess, playing the Congolese rhythms, funk and rock; Delgres from Guadeloupe, combining their native Caribbean rhythms with delta blues for a deep roots sound of their own; East Meets Middle East, a musical collective across continents, celebrating the rich traditions of the Middle East and South Asia; and the Zhou Family Band from China, entertaining audiences with traditional wind and percussion music. In between global music acts the Chicago Cultural Alliance will highlight local performers at American Indian Center, Muntu Dance Theater Chicago, Chicago Samba, and PACF Performing Arts & Kapwa Cultural. World Music Festival Chicago is produced by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The full schedule of performances happening September 7-23 can be found at www.WorldMusicFestivalChicago.org.

World Dumpling Fest 2018 Restaurants

Cafe Tola  www.cafetola.com

Cultural Representation: Mexican

Dumpling Description: Empanadas, Delicious Varieties of Vegetarian and Meat

Chef/Restaurant Details: A blending of delicacies with colorful Mexican pizzazz and an adventurous menu of daily crafted homemade empanadas and wickedly-delicious coffees guaranteed to rock your world.

Dia De Los Tamales www.diadelostamales.com

Cultural Representation: Mesoamerican

Dumpling Description: Tamales, Delicious Varieties of Vegetarian and Meat

Chef/Restaurant Details: Dia De Los Tamales – revolutionary tamales in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, created in a chef driven kitchen with farm-to-fork attitude and eco-conscious kitchen.

Ethiopian Diamond www.ethiopiandiamondrestaurants.com

Cultural Representation: Ethiopian

Dumpling Description: Sambusas–whole lentil, spinach, and potato and carrots.

Chef/Restaurant Details: Executive Chef & Owner, Almaz Yigizaw welcomes you to her namesake Ethiopian restaurant (Almaz means diamond in Amharic). The Ethiopian Diamond Restaurant & Bar is known for its extensive, menu of authentic, Ethiopian dishes and is open for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. All of the Ethiopian food is served in a welcoming, comfortable, and hip and inviting cultural setting.

Friendship Chinese Restaurant www.friendshiprestaurant.com

Cultural Representation: Chinese

Dumpling Description: Chinese Bao and Sui Mai

Chef/Restaurant Details: A long held Logan Square destination for elegant Chinese dining for more than 20 years, Chef/Owner Alan Yuen brings new ideas to his dishes, with Chicago’s longest running Dim Sum each weekend, and Hong Kong Street Food each Thursday, with food and cocktail pairings harkening to his childhood in HK.

Herb Restaurant www.herbrestaurant.com

Cultural Representation: Thai

Dumpling Description: Saku Sai Moo in Different Varieties

Chef/Restaurant Details: Herb is Thai redefined. Our dishes are perfect for diners that demand quality ingredients and a caveat of health in their adventures of haute cuisine. Award winning Chef Patty Neumson looks forward to serving you at the best Thai restaurant in Chicago.

Himmel’s www.himmelschicago.com

Cultural Representation: German

Dumpling Description: Spätzle with grilled onions (vegetarian), bread dumplings with pork mushroom gravy

Chef/Restaurant Details: Diana and Carol Himmel’s (sisters) dream started in their mother’s north-side Chicago kitchen dishing up scrumptious, homemade meals. “For the past five years, we have been blessed to bring you Pizza D.O.C. We’ve called ourselves an Italian restaurant with a German flair – and we of course have been the German flair. Now, we’re settling into our own, creating new from scratch dishes with a personal touch.”

Kamehachi www.kamehachi.com

Cultural Representation: Japanese

Dumpling Description: Goyza in different varieties

Chef/Restaurant Details: Kamehachi means “eight turtles” in Japanese. The turtle and the number eight both symbolize long life and good luck in Japan. For more than 40 years, Kamehachi has been perfecting the art of making sushi. And today, the values and traditions established at ‘Chicago’s First Sushi Restaurant’ are as strong as ever. Made with the highest quality ingredients and meticulously crafted, Kamehachi has earned its reputation as the premier Japanese restaurant in the Chicago-land area.

Kasia’s Deli www.kasiasdeli.com

Cultural Representation: Polish

Dumpling Description: Pierogi in different varieties

Chef/Restaurant Details: Kazimiera Bober, better known as “Kasia”, is living proof of the “American Dream” as exemplified by the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, Chicago Public Radio, WTTW 11 and other public media. She immigrated to the United States from Poland in 1970’s with a dream of a better life for herself and her children. After years of working odd jobs and struggling financially, she decided to pursue something in which she excelled, which was cooking.

Sinhá www.sinhaelegantcuisine.com

Cultural Representation: Brazilian

Dumpling Description: Coxinha de Galinha and Bolinho de Aipim (meat and veggies options)

Chef/Restaurant Details: Sinhá (Seen-yah’), which means “lady of the house”, offers you the only opportunity in Chicago to have Brazilian food catered for any occasion. The food preparation is totally authentic and so is the chef. Born, raised, and educated in Brazil, Jorgina Pereira began small-scale catering 12 years ago for friends and acquaintances. For her, cooking is a source of personal enjoyment and an outlet for artistic expression. Since then, Sinhá has earned the respect of big-name establishments such as Varig Brazilian Airlines who have frequently requested Sinhá’s contribution.

Tryzub Ukrainian Kitchen www.Tryzubchicago.com

Cultural Representation: Ukrainian

Dumpling Description: 5 color varenyky – white: traditional potato & cheese, red: beet infused shell with chicken, sundried tomato & red pepper, orange: carrot infused shell with pork & onion, yellow: turmeric infused shell with sauerkraut & mushroom, green: gluten free spinach infused shell with spinach, white bean & cheese

Chef/Restaurant Details: Situated in the heart of Ukrainian Village, this trend setting restaurant and bar showcases traditional Ukrainian fare with a modern twist. Try the Ukrainian-style Pierogi’s called Varenyky, handmade daily in our kitchen.

World Dumpling Fest Art Vendors and Cultural Activity Booths

Trickster Art Gallery www.trickstergallery.com

Cultural Representation: Native

Selling: Native made jewelry, beadwork, prints, books

Art Vendor Details: As the only Native American owned and operated arts gallery in Illinois, the Trickster Art Gallery is dedicated to the preservation and awareness of contemporary (post-1960s) Native arts. The facility includes several gallery spaces, a library room, a tech center, an outdoor porch area, and a garden. The gallery is within walking distance of the Schaumburg Town Square, making the institution central to many neighborhood events and festivals.

Artenimai www.artenimai.com

Cultural Representation: South & Central American

Selling: Macrame & Filigree Necklaces, Bracelets, Earrings & Handmade Dreamcatchers (all locally designed and handmade)

Art Vendor Details: After an adventurous 15 years traveling throughout South and Central America learning the secrets of macramé and filigree design, Romina met Benji on a trip to Chicago and they married in 2015. Though she no longer lives the life of a nomadic artist, Romina continues to design and craft handmade, one-of-a-kind jewelry in her Naperville workshop.

Artes Gemelas www.facebook.com/artesgemelas311/

Cultural Representation: Puerto Rico

Selling: Jewelry made with natural seeds from Puerto Rico. Made with seeds from the back yard from the artist’s child hood home and the beauty of our mountain.

Art Vendor Details: Inspired by the beauty of my Isla Puerto Rico. From the natural beauty I came across from Puerto Rico to the jewelry and art created with natural seeds.

Studio 3311 www.facebook.com/studio3311

Cultural Representation: India

Selling: A fusion of traditional and contemporary Indian jewelry. Silver or Gold, Stones or Kundan, Traditional or Contemporary.

Glass Sense www.glasssense.com/

Cultural Representation: Lithuanian

Selling: All the artist’s projects begin from glass sheets, rods and pieces. Glass is carefully cut, melted and cooled in kiln. Every single piece is unique, individually designed and handmade. Most creations are made from tiny glass pieces using tweezers.

Art Vendor Details: “I’m a Lithuanian artist came to US in 2000. I began fuse glass 10 years ago. I’m participating in art shows and take my glass work to galleries and local boutiques. Also I’m a glass teacher at Lithuanian Art Museum. Glass is my biggest passion and I’m very happy that I found glass in my life.”

Sevim Surucu www.sevimsurucu.com

Cultural Representation: Turkish

Selling: Erbu Paper Marbling Art

Art Vendor Details: “I am an Ebru (Turkish Paper Marbling) artist living in Chicago, IL. I graduated from Istanbul University with a Bachelor of Art degree in Landscape Architecture. After working as a landscape architect in Turkey, I moved to the United States. In 2004, I started studying the art of paper marbling because I wanted to combine my love of nature with my love of Turkish Traditional Arts and sharing my prosperous culture to others.”

World Dumpling Fest Maker Booths

National Cambodian Heritage Museum www.cambodianmuseum.org/

Cultural Representation: Cambodian

Maker Activity Description: The activities will include—Cambodian musical instrument demonstration and a mini-workshop, Kbach Khmer drawing demonstration, Coloring, and others.

Museum Details: The National Cambodian Heritage Museum is a tribute to the rich heritage that dates back more than 4,000 years, and provides a permanent and secure home in Chicago for the culture that was almost lost during the Vietnam War and Cambodia’s own civil unrest.

Chinese American Museum of Chicago www.ccamuseum.org/

Cultural Representation: Chinese

Maker Activity Description: The Chinese American Museum will be demonstrating Chinese calligraphy and arts and craft.

Museum Details: The Chinese American Museum of Chicago seeks to commemorate and interpret the experiences of Chinese immigrants to the American Midwest.

Chicago Japanese Historical Society https://cjahs.org/

Cultural Representation: Japan

Maker Activity Description: Demonstrating origami at the table and selling the bookmarkers

Museum Details: Through museum collaborations, historical research, and conservation, the CJHS aims to preserve the Japanese American legacy in Chicago.

World Dumpling Fest Local Cultural Performers

American Indian Center www.aicchicago.org/

Cultural Representation: Native

Performer Details: Today, the AIC strives to be the primary cultural and community resource for nearly 65,000 American Indians in Chicagoland’s six county region.  Chicago is the third largest urban Native American population in the country with over one-hundred tribal nations represented.

Muntu Dance Theater Chicago www.muntu.com/

Cultural Representation: African & African American

Performer Details: Through its performances, Muntu strives to create an atmosphere of communal participation, encouraging and inspiring audiences and participants to join in the celebration! Founded in 1972, The Chicago-based Muntu Dance Theatre performs authentic and progressive interpretations of contemporary and ancient African and African-American dance, music, and folklore. A colorful and dynamic Company, Muntu brings its audiences out of their seats and into the aisles with its unique synthesis of dance, rhythm and song.

Chicago Samba www.chicagosamba.com/

Cultural Representation: Brazilian

Performer Details: Chicago Samba is a musical ensemble, based in Chicago, that plays authentic Brazilian dance music.

PACF Performing Arts & Kapwa Cultural http://pacfmidwest.org/

Cultural Representation: Filipino

Performer Details: PACF Performing Arts Based in the western suburbs, PACF Performing Arts is a youth group that was formed to teach our children the positive aspects of our culture, heritage, and history through dance, music, and arts; to learn to appreciate, respect and work with each other; to learn to give back to the community; and to help promote our rich Philippine culture by performing at many cultural events, churches, private functions and community programs

ABOUT CHICAGO CULTURAL ALLIANCE

The Chicago Cultural Alliance (CCA) is the only organization of its kind in the US, representing 39 Chicago-area heritage museums, cultural centers, and historical societies – our Core Members, and 19 Partners, a wide range of civic and arts organizations. Our mission is to connect, promote and support centers of cultural heritage for a more inclusive and culturally vibrant region.

The CCA’s programming and services celebrate diversity, preserve history, and honor tradition while amplifying intercultural collaboration. CCA offerings include large-scale collaborative programming that showcase Core Member assets, shared services that build capacity, promotion, and networking opportunities throughout the year through our member meetings and conferences.

The CCA was formally created in 2008 after beginning at The Field Museum as the Cultural Connections program from 1998-2006.

More information is available at www.ChicagoCulturalAlliance.org.

Source: www.ChicagoCulturalAlliance.org

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