Tofu Festival

As one of the featured events on the Democratic National Convention calendar, the Fifth Annual Los Angeles Tofu Festival was one of the major community celebrations in Los Angeles this year. The Festival is a multicultural celebration of food experiences, with recipes from tofu enchiladas to tofu cheesecake. This unique fund raising festival was produced by Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), featuring the culinary and health benefits of tofu. Celebrity co-chairs were Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, co-chefs and co-owners of Border Grill, Santa Monica and Las Vegas and Ciudad, downtown Los Angeles.

No longer just an Asian cuisine mainstay, tofu is fast becoming a cross-cultural super food, packed with antioxidants, protein and calcium. The festival featured tasty offerings from a variety of ethnic cuisines including Mexican, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Thai and American all of which tempted the taste buds of festival goers.

In addition to food booths, an integral part of the Festival was the Wellness Information Booths, which was set up to address current health-related concerns and provide various free medical screening. This year, a health forum was added featuring a nutritionist, Shiatsu therapist teaching self-message technique, Pilates demonstration and more. An expansion area on San Pedro Street was also planned for a Fitness and Health Festival.

Entertainment featured a broad range of musical talent from children's performers and the ever popular sounds of the Taiko (traditional Japanese drums).

Cooking demonstrations featured some of Southern California's most talented chefs and nutrition experts on soy.

The Children's Pavilion provided an area for children to enjoy arts and crafts, as well as games and entertainment. The festival also featured a "teddy bear clinic" and photo opportunities with Pokemon character.

For more informaton, please visit http://www.tofufest.org.