CORAL was invited to participate in this year's Aloha Festival in San Francisco. A production of PICA, the Pacific Islander's Cultural Association, the Aloha Festival is a two-day festival of arts held during the first full weekend of every August in The Presidio. Entertainment includes Pacific Islander music as well as Polynesian dance. The festival also features over 100 arts & crafts vendors, island cuisine, educational exhibits and workshops. It's a great addition to San Francisco's already impressive collection of cultural festivals and I was proud CORAL was a part of it.Anja was the real heroine of the day, volunteering to wake-up early on a Saturday morning to schlep all of the displays and outreach materials over to The Presidio. She set up a table with brochures, calendars, Seafood Watch cards, and of course the famous outreach raffle. Anja had a great flow of traffic all day and helped share a coral reef conservation to any interested visitor. And with all the fish eaters among the attendees, I suspect we placed some well needed Seafood Watch cards in lots of pockets. Here's Anja posing with our spanking new banner.
One of our neighbors in the education tent, Surfrider Foundation, was also providing ocean conservation outreach to visitors. Though I must admit I think they are sending out mixed messages by providing free souvenir shells to little visitors. I don't think it serves the goal of building stewardship by encouraging the collection of ocean curios.
After checking-in with Anja, Manuel and I made a bee-line straight for the food tents. It wasn't hard to find. First you follow the wafting aromas of charring pork and chicken. They you look for the long lines leading-up to the most popular vendor. It was a difficult choice given all the vendors: huli chicken, Filipino platters of adobo, pancit, lumpia and more, Pad Thai, Thai barbecue, salmon burgers, garlic fries, kettle corn, chicken kabobs... the list goes on. We spotted a particularly long line for a vendor serving-up Hawaiian lunch plates consisting of a mound of kalua pork, fresh salmon poki, steamed rice, macaroni salad, and poi for $6.00. The line moved quickly and before long we were both enjoying island flavors under San Francisco fog.
And after a great island lunch, how about a great refreshing island treat of shaved ice? I'm a big shaved ice fan, and apparently so was everyone else in attendance. We waited in line for about 30 minutes to approach one of the two shaved ice vendors. We chose the one where you actually get to choose and pour your own flavors. Oh baby, why didn't they have this when I was a kid? I went nuts and mixed-up my own combo of green apple, watermelon, mango, strawberry, and peach. I won't even try to descibe how great it tasted on a hot (well, hot for San Francisco) afternoon.
I made the mistake of asking Manuel to hold my shaved ice as I took pictures. Needless to say there was less shaved ice in my bowl when he handed it back to me.
The Aloha Festival is a great event that attracts a broad cross section from the entire Pacific Rim. There were visitors and vendors representing Hawaii, Samoa, Guam, Philippines, the CNMI, Palau, Tonga, and more. It's a fantastic family event that has something to offer every visitor, whether you're from the islands or not. As we were leaving, we walked past the performers prep area and watched a family getting ready for a Hula presentation. There were children, parents, and grandparents representing a connection to island culture stretching back at least three generations. It's great that the Bay Area can have this event that allows island pride and culture to shine. You still have tomorrow (Sunday) if you want to attend the festival. I might have to go again if only for more shaved ice or a Halo-Halo. And if you miss this year, be sure to mark your calendar for next summer.
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