In general, I avoid festivals. Maybe it's because of the weather and the humidity, maybe it's the…read morelarge crowds, maybe the fear of running into a fortune teller (illogical, as any other fear). Maybe I am too lazy to move around from stall to stall checking out merchandise, tasting food and drinks, but whatever it is, I get bored really quickly.
Then, I attended the SOBE WFF Kids Festival at Parrot Jungle, or as it was called this year, "Florida Blue presents Fun and Fit as a Family sponsored by Carnival featuring Kellogg's Kidz Kitchen at Jungle Island", a title in which nobody was left behind or unnamed. My family has been attending this event every year without me, not because I am a sourpuss, but due to my busy schedule. This year, however, I had plenty of time in my hands, and tickets were available from the awesomest website community called Yelp.
Roughly, the event is divided in three areas: Kidz Kitchen, where celebrity chefs cook healthy foods and promote healthy eating, variety and self sustainability, Food Labs, where kids have a hand on cooking experience directed by a chef or celebrity, and then the "Fun and Fit" area, where kids play, compete in games, dance and are able to sample healthy foods.
As a resident of Miami, FIU alumni, Food Network and Bravo TV aficionado, I am very aware of what is going on with the SOBE WFF and who is who. The day that I was attending, the line up of celebrity chefs (yes, they have that status) was Giada di Laurentiis, Rocco diSpirito, and the infamous Andrew Zimmern. I don't know about Rocco or Zimmern, but I think every man who likes good food would love to have Giada cooking for him, specially after Giada did a spread for Esquire magazine. The other chefs' celebrity status is also well documented, Rocco is on almost every season of Top Chef, and Andrew Zimmern hosts Bizarre Foods, and lately he is everywhere.
So I made it out to Jungle Island with the family. I planned on attending only Giada's demo, but popped up at all the other shows after watching her. Giada looks exactly like on TV, although more on the anorexic side. Rocco was a trip. He should be a stand up comedian AND a celebrity chef. He works the crows really well. And Andrew Zimmern was incredible, he has acquired so much knowledge through his travels around the world that I honestly tip off my hat to him. He mixes culinary arts with anthropology, current events and politics, in such a pleasant way that he could become the next great cult leader. Yikes.
The other big event at this festival was the Food Lab, where kids are dispensed ingredients and a chef, or celebrity, instructs them on how to prepare a meal. Everything is chopped up for kids to put the ingredients together, and create a tasty and healthy meal. Educational, to say the least, and fun for the kids.
Besides the cooking, Jungle Island emphasizes healthy eating and exercising in the area called "Fun and Fit", where sponsors were handing out healthy foods, such as fruits, frozen yogurts, cooked whole wheat pasta, fruit salads, low calorie drinks, and water instead of soda. However, the distribution of bottled water was the hiccup to the festivities. The amount of bottles of water that was trashed was enormous, and my concerns about ecology and the environment were raised, cynically, at Jungle Island.
Everything was really great, informational, and educational, something I was not expecting. To have kids playing around with animals, enjoying the playgrounds, listening to chefs, or celebrities, and playing with food was refreshing and fun, not only for kids but for parents as well. These type of events are certainly something the needs to be enjoyed more in our community. The message about eating healthy was present at every turn, and I am sure that the large crowds got it. Whether they decide to implement it or not it's a different story, but this undoubtedly was a win win event for everyone.
