Get out and go: Events around the world (November 18-21)

by Brenda Yun on

It’s time to look at the festivals and events happening around the world, and this week has a particularly international selection of happenings. If you’re close and have time, then you have no excuse to get out and go!

  • Mexico – Birders will unite in the Yucatan Peninsula for the Yucatan Bird Festival from November 19-22. For the 8th consecutive year, the festival offers a wide range of field trips, exhibits, conferences, and a “birdathon.” Objectives of this annual festival include promoting the rich diversity of bird species found in the Yucatan and developing a conservationist culture among tourists and tour providers.
  • California – The California Surf Festival celebrates awareness and support for surf history preservation this weekend from November 19-22. It is an international event destination bringing people from all over the world to Oceanside, California, to experience surf culture through films, music, art, photography and interaction with those who embody the culture as well as highlight the surf community of California.
  • Amsterdam – The International Documentary Film Festival begins this Thursday, November 19. The film extravaganza will present over 300 documentaries over the course of 10 days, ending on the 29th.
  • Israel – Shalem Dance Festival will begin this Thursday, November 19 in Jerusalem. Over 50 Israeli and guest dancers perform in original contemporary dance works. This year’s highlight will feature contemporary dance ensembles from Africa. The festival ends on the 21st.

  • India – The Mim Kut and Pawl Kut Festival will be celebrated this Friday, November 20 in Mizoram. Celebrated in the last week of November or the first week of December, the festival celebrates the completion of the harvesting season.
  • Helsinki – This year Helsinki’s Chocolate Festival has a larger “box,” as it is held at Wanha Satama fair centre November 21-22. The festivali celebrates the diversity of the sweet stuff. Choco-connaisseurs share their sweet wisdom about the impact of chocolate on health, wellbeing, history of chocolate, production and variety.

If you make it to one of these events, let us know how it was, or if you know of an event that’s coming up, please let us know and we’ll be sure to include it in the next “Get out and go” round-up.

The Spice Isle: What the Grenada guidebooks might not tell you

by Alison Brick on

Grenada is so off the radar for a lot of Americans that it leaves a lot to be learned about the country. (For one, how it’s pronounced. Answer: “Gren-ay-da.”)

But here are some of the more practical tidbits that I learned while in the island country that might also serve you well on your visit:

Keep your swimsuits to the beach. An indecent exposure law forbids it elsewhere. Cover up, even if it’s just a little bit.

Don’t wear camouflage. It’s illegal to wear it in any color or format.

Ask before taking that photo of someone. It’s good tact in any situation (although goodbye to spontaneity), but I especially felt the need to in Grenada. In fact, a few people called me on it when I didn’t. My instinct was to snap photos left and right at the market, but I intentionally stopped to talk about and buy produce first.

US money. Yes, you can use it and businesses accept it.

Go SCUBA diving. Grenada has the most wreck dives (sunken boats) in the Caribbean.

%Gallery-77695%Drive on the left. (Also means walking on the left-hand side). But first, you have to get a local driving permit from the traffic department at the Central Police Station on the Carenage. Present your driver’s license and pay a fee of EC$30.

No need to rush the spice-buying. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to buy spice and all of the variations of spice products — for cheap, too. Consider buying it from the shopkeeper that you’ve just enjoyed a great conversation with.

Say yes to insect repellent. Mosquito bites ended up being the majority of my souvenirs.

Keep some cash on hand for your departure tax. The airport doesn’t accept credit cards for the payment. You can use either American or Eastern Caribbean cash. Adults: EC$50 (US$20). Children ages 2-12: EC$25 (US$10).

Stick to one elevation at a time. Grenada is blessed with wonders from the depths of the ocean to the heights of a 2,000-foot-high mountain. But it’s such a distance that you’ll want to avoid going SCUBA diving and seeing Grand Etang in the same day — you’re sure to get decompression sickness (the bends).

Wait to buy chocolate until later. No doubt you’ll want to bring chocolate home (Grenada Chocolate Company makes an especially good kind — plus it’s organic and made small-batch). But if you’re like me you don’t have a refrigerator in your hotel room, the chocolate is sure to melt, so pick it up at the end.

Hydrate. It’s easy to forget that you need to drink more than usual because of the weather — even when you don’t feel thirsty.

Do as the locals do. Go to the beach on Sunday for an authentic Grenadian experience — you’ll find local families lounging on the beach, and kids starting up soccer games.

Keep an ear to the local slang. For one, “bon je” (jai/jay) is used as an exclamation of awe. That said, understanding the local patois can be as difficult as learning any new language.

Alison Brick traveled through Grenada on a trip sponsored by the Grenada Board of Tourism. That said, she could write about anything that struck her fancy. (And it just so happens that these are the things that struck her fancy.) You can read more from her The Spice Isle: Grenada series here.

Vintage candy making in Maine

by Jamie Rhein on

Ever since 1915, Haven’s Candies has been making hand-crafted candy in a traditional way, much like the company’s founder Herbert Haven and his wife did when they first started making candy in their kitchen. They sold their confections from the parlor of their house on Forest Avenue in Portland, Maine.

Now there are three Haven’s Candies locations. The company’s flagship candy making facility, that includes a retail and wholesale store, is in Westbrook, Maine. Other retail locations are in Portland and Scarborough.

If you’ve ever wondered how candy is made the old fashioned way, this video clip of Haven’s Candies covers it. From peanut butter cups to coconut haystacks to candy canes, it’s all here. By the end, you’ll have a sweet tooth craving.

It is possible to see Haven’s Candies being made in person. There is an open house at the candy factory every year on Columbus Day. Guided tours are also available at other times. Plus, the candy making area of the Westbrook location has glass windows. When the store is open you can watch the candy production.

Celebrate National Dessert Month at 5 Fifty 5 in New Orleans

by Katie Hammel on

October is National Dessert Month! Okay, it’s actually National Pizza Month, National Pasta Month, National Pretzel Month and National Pork Month too, but I’m putting my weight behind this one. (Oh who am I kidding, I’m sure I’ll put my “weight” “behind” them all!)

To celebrate this all-important occasion, 5 Fifty 5, the restaurant in the New Orleans Marriott, is offering an incentive to those guests who want to “eat dessert first!” Those who rise to the challenge will receive 20% off their entire bill.

If you can’t quite bring yourself to follow a decadent chocolate cake with lobster macaroni and cheese, crab meat sliders, or a 20 ounce steak with truffle fries, you can still enjoy these delicious desserts after your entree. Special creations unveiled for the promotion include Oreo sandwiches with Creole cream cheese shooters, seven-layer chocolate cake with an Absinthe shake, and a strawberry napoleon with pecan crunch. Can’t decide on just one $5.55 dessert? Order all five for $25.

5 Fifty 5 has won two “Best in Show” awards at the New Orleans Food and Wine Experience, and makes all desserts (plus breads and pastries) in house. The Marriott hotel is located on Canal street in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

If you can’t make it in for a dinner of dessert in October, don’t worry: at 5 Fifty 5, National Dessert Month will extend through November.

Enter to win a “cuisinternship” in Oregon

by Katie Hammel on

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a winemaker, brewmaster, or cheesemaker? How about a rancher, chocolate maker, fisherman(or woman), or a liquor distiller? Here’s your chance to find out. Seven lucky winners will be given the opportunity to apprentice in their chosen professions, helping out with all the duties of the job and learning the ropes from the pros.

The Oregon Bounty Cuisinternship contest runs until September 18 and aims to highlight the variety and quality of food and drink produced locally. The internships take place around the state, covering the Pacific coast, Willamette Valley, Mt. Hood, Eastern Oregon and Portland. The brewing intern will be mixing barley and hops at Full Sail Brewing and the apprentice chef will be prepping dishes at Le Pigeon Restaurant. Each apprentice will receive airfare from his or her home city to Portland, six nights of lodging, a five day apprenticeship, and $1000 cash to cover meals and other expenses.

To enter, compose a 140-character statement on why you should be chosen for the apprenticeship, along with a two-minute video explaining why you are the best person for the job. You can submit one entry per category, but you can apply for as many categories as you wish. Entries must be received by September 18 and the winners will be announced on September 30.