Yesterday it was another hot summer weekend but, along with it, another summer festival! In this case, after a short hop via the Seabus to Lonsdale Quay then a short walk to Waterfront Park, the Caribbean Days Festival! (Courtesy of Trinidad and Tobago Cultural Society). So, without further ado.
I will admit I am not sure how many people of Caribbean descent are in Metro Vancouver; however, the fact we have different Jamaican restaurants (mostly, haven’t found evidence of other Caribbean) ought to mean something. Hey, as they say, if there is food… So, enjoy this photo essay of the festival (which, by the way, closes today, Sunday, July 26th).
If there is a festival, there ought to vendors, right? No close shot of their wares, though…
In the main stand, different bands and, in this case, dance. Work hard, party harder? 
Now, to those who haven’t been to this area, Waterfront Park is “divided” into two by a ditch (where rails are set) – the actual park with a small gazebo overlooking Downtown Vancouver and the other area which, well, looks like an empty lot. Since the park is not that big, the food section is set up in this empty lot.
There were only a handful of vendors (plus the alcohol section). However, that creates a couple of problems. For example, orders would end up being large like seen in the picture above. The other problem is that there isn’t that much variety – almost all of the stands were selling the same dishes: roti, jerk chicken, goat curry, patty, et al. And the worst offender? Long queues!!!! As for what I ended up getting…
Bake and Saltfish – a sandwich made with salted fish (cod fish?) and a salad side. It was a bit saltier that what I was expected…
Beef patty. Empanada (as in Empanada Hut) anybody?
I will admit I ended up ordering “misses” for the sake of variety. Had I ordered a jerk or curry, that would have been more food and wouldn’t have ordered the patty instead. In a funny way, that ended up being a bad idea anyway, as there wasn’t anything else that caught my attention (despite there was a soft-serve ice-cream shop). I ended up going to the festivities area and…
Yes, corn cob. I must be nuts to be eating this while basking under the sun!
Finally, to quench my thirst, I got something unusual: mauby. The best way to describe its flavours would be root beer-y, anise-y and that of a bad medicine. Read: an acquired taste.
The festival was interesting but one thing dampened it: it was way too hot for my liking. In the end, I went to a nearby McD’s for a large soft-drink (special at $1) as I was starting to feel dehydrated (I know, not the best drink but I had to have something!). Not to blame them of course, it just happened. So, one more festival down, at least two other more to come!
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Once again, we were at the same event, but I think I did not see you this time. Also you are always one step ahead of me with blogging
Anyways I couldn’t agree with you more for the weather, I felt like I was melting while in line to buy food. So for that reason, and the lack of variety in food, I might be tempted to skip it next year. So what other festival are coming up??
Jenny, hehehehe, I hope this won’t turn into a competition! And, having said that, should I tell you what other festivals are pending? Hmmmmmmm…
I don’t see this as competition, I see this as a oppertunity to see what other type of food we missed. After reading you entry, I feel like I ate them too
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