Sunday, July 11, 2010

Lebanese Festival: July 8-11, 2010

This year marks the ninth time the Lebanese Festival has taken place in Halifax. Like Greek Fest in June, the Halifax Lebanese Festival is a fund raiser for a local Orthodox Church (San Antonio's Antiochian in this case), and follows much the same format of ethnic dancing, ethnic food, and games for the children that makes Greek Fest so popular.


(You can't have a Mediterranean-themed Festival in Halifax without being able to kick a soccer ball at a teenager. I think it might be in the requirements to get a festival permit from the city.)


(A dunk tank! Greek Fest should have thought of that.)

While the Lebanese Festival didn't have a visit from Michael Ignatieff, it was able to amass an impressive field of local, provincial, and national politicians to speak at its opening ceremony on July 9th. It also had an amazing menu of food to taste like the delicious Tabouli, Kafta, and Baklava, and even Zaatar, prepared traditionally on the Saj (a convex, domed, cooking device).

If you could last through the painful "Halifax's Got Talent" talent show, which was essentially pre-teen girls dancing and singing horribly while their friends shrieked in high-pitched shrill voices, you were rewarded with some excellent Lebanese Dancing. I more or less show up to these Festivals specifically for the food and dancing.

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