The Ice Storm

This past Saturday I ventured out alone to attend the 1st annual Juneteenth Festival being held at Hermann Park in a city near my home town called Goldsboro, NC. I really enjoyed myself at the festival, but what I did after I left the festival really made my day. I heard about another local event happening downtown, a Car Show. Now, I am no car fanatic but I love a good event and thought it would be nice to walk around downtown for a bit as the area is really growing and changing from what I remember growing up.

Cool Off This Summer with a Cup of Iced Tea

Today, June 10th is National Iced Tea day! Iced tea (or sweet tea as we call it) is a staple in the south so I grew up with that being the main drink in pretty much every household and restaurant around; whether it's freshly made by boiling the tea bags or if it's sun tea, which is a slower process. So as you can imagine it was a culture shock for me when I moved to Idaho and couldn't find good sweet tea anywhere except McDonalds or the fake stuff you buy in the store.

Sun Tea(on the right)

Sitting on History; A visit to Hawk's Nest Cafe, Kinston, NC

In the spirit of Black History month, both celebrating accomplishments of African Americans as well as remembering the Civil Rights Movement, I wanted to highlight a cafe in the middle of no man's land, Hawks Nest Cafe. This cafe is located in little ol' Kinston, NC about 30 minutes away from where I grew up in Mount Olive, NC. Note, there are people in NC that don't know where these 2 towns are, so that should let you know how small they are.

Soup Joumou; A Salute to Independence

Across the world, January 1st is a day to celebrate the completion of one year, and the high expectations of the year to come. Everyone makes all of their new year's resolutions that they know they will probably not keep up with throughout the year. No judgment here though, it's always good to have goals to work towards right? But, to one country January 1st means so much more than a failing promise to one's self.

Dine Out Downtown Boise Restaurant Week

This weekend kicked off the 2017 Dine out Downtown Boise Restaurant Week! From Friday, October 27th - Sunday, November 5th, you can enjoy culinary experiences all over downtown Boise, and receive great deals, new creations, and more! It all began on Wednesday, October 25th with a VIP experience at the Basque Museum Cultural Center. Local celebrities such as news anchors and reporters (including a few of my favorite Ch 6. ladies), area chefs, and local food bloggers were all invited to try just a few of the places that were participating in this year's festivities. Being a food tour guide with Indulge Boise allotted me the opportunity to be apart of that list, and oh the joy I felt when I received the invitation!

San Inazio 2k17

Every year the Boise community comes together to help celebrate The San Inazio Festival that is held the last weekend in July at the Basque Block in Downtown Boise. This Festival is a 25+ year celebration honoring St. Ignatius of Loyola, who is the patron saint of the Basques community. It started out as a picnic where families would come together to eat and enjoy each other's company, and once it became so popular turned into a Boise community event that features music, dancing, sporting events, and of course some of the most popular foods from the Basques kitchen! I went and checked out the festival with a few friends, and even met 5 or 6 more people and had the chance to learn their stories which always fascinates me!

OPA! - Boise's 36th Annual Greek Food Festival

Boise's 36th Annual Greek Food Festival took place this past weekend in the Downtown Boise area every year during the weekend after Memorial Day. St. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church has been the hosting hub for the festival over the years, and funds raised have been used to help support the church's outreach initiatives along with their partners such as Life's Kitchen.

Although there have been Greeks in the Boise area for much longer than 36 years, the festival was started by about 20 members of the Greek community as a way to introduce Boise to Greek culture. One of the originals, Effie Karellas Kaufman, said that promoting ethnicity in the community was important to them. Effie has deep roots in the Peninsula in areas such as Athens, Arcadia, and Kalata Village of Greece.