2008 OLIVE OIL FESTIVAL &
MEDITERRANEAN STREET FAIR
What an amazing time everyone had that attended this fun festival. This years International Olive Oil Festival was held in conjunction with The Florganic Organic Food Festival and was held on May 3-4 of 2008. The event was hosted in the prestigious Las Olas neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale. Exhibitors and vendors were selling art, food, and kitchen gadgets, several chefs and personalities, brands of olive oil from all over the world and several thousand olive oil loving patrons.
Schedule of Events:
Saturday May 3rd
11:00 Doors Open
11-1:00 Claude Kadoch - Come enjoy the soothing tunes of this Moroccan born Flamenco guitarist as he croons out olive oil, Italian, gipsy, and other related forms of music literally in the lounges of 15 Mediterranean Languages. Truly an amazing performer.
1–2:00 Laurel Kadouri - Watch a dazzling display of elegance by professional bellydancer Laurel Kadouri who will be accompanied by Grammy nominee percussionist, Michael Moses.
2–5:00 Alvaro Barsi - Italian Accordianist
2-3:00 cooking demo with Chef Lee. Sponsored by Salud LLC / Soler Romero Olive Oil, Chef Lee Lucier known on TV as "Chef Lee" will be doing a cooking demonstration with Soler Romero Brand Olive Oil.
2:00 – Film inside Cinema Paradiso – Three Men & Leg. Aldo, Giovanni, and Giacomo star as three hapless Italians who on the way to a wedding must deliver work of modern art: a wooden leg worth millions even if it doesn't look like it, in this Italian Comedy.
2:30 Opera Singer Kelly Williams. Trained at the Italian Opera Institute in Italy, he is a baritone performer who is well known for his ability to sing like Andrea Bocelli.
3-5:00 Stephen Texon, we originally hired him to do a Frank Sinatra tribute yet were blessed to find out that he has done full productions with Placido Domingo, Richard Tucker, Robert Merrill, Tito Gobbi, and Jerome Hines, with the New Jersey State Opera. A highlight was understudying and singing the dress rehearsal of "La Traviata" for Robert Merrill, with that company at Symphony Hall, Newark, and at the Garden State Arts Center. The Cantor has also performed with the New York City Opera Education Department in the role of Tonio in "Pagliacci.” Stephen Texon and Opera Singer Kelly Williams might also do a duo act together.
4:00 - Film inside Cinema Paradiso – The 4th Tenor. Rodney Dangerfield stars as the owner of an Italian Restaurant who falls in love with an opera singer and, desperate to impress her, travels to Italy to learn how to sing.
5-7:00 Allesandra Belloni. Allesandra is one of the last remaining professional Tarentella Performers in the world. Often called a "MEDITERRANEAN VOLCANO"Alessandra Belloni is a singer, tambourine virtuoso, dancer and actress, she was born in Italy, and is committed to preserving the strong and rich traditions of her culture. The only woman in the U.S. and in Italy who specializes in Southern Italian percussion combined with ritual dances.
7-10:30 Frankie Diaz with Havana Soul Orchestra. Come dance a little salsa, latin, mambo, Mediterranean, big band, jazz, Italian, and much more. This live orchestra comes complete with brass, flute, guitar, drums, keyboard etc. We watched them perfom at the Habana 1900 club in Coral Gables. ASTOUNDING PERFORMANCE!!!
8:00– Film inside Cinema Paradiso – When do we eat. A family's Passover gets screwy after the patriarch unknowingly ingests a hit of Ecstasy.
Sunday May 4th
11:00- Doors Open
11:30- Tango Performance by Kathleen & Gabriel
1:00- Olive Oil Tasting Competition Commences
2:00- Awards Ceremony. Sponsored by BocaRaton.com. A panel of judges will announce which olive oil producers be be honored with medals in three different categories: delicate, medium, and robust. Olive OilFEST will offer a gold, silver, and bronze medal in each category plus an additional medal to: The Olive Oil King 2009.
2:30 Wine Tasting - Provided by Tuscany Wines
3:00 Film inside Cinema Paradiso – The Freshman. A college Freshman (Matthew Broderick) gets a job as a "go to guy" for a mysterious Olive Oil importer (Marlon Brando) in this hilarious comedy.
3:30 Kamaria Dancers Group Performance - Come enjoy the Demetrios Kamaria Dancers as they dance in authentic Greek folkloric style while donning old world Renaissance style dance costumes.
5:00 Film inside Cinema Paradiso - My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Love is here to stay... so is her family. A young Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity.
5:00 Cooking Demo by The Contessa. Originally from Mulberry Street in NYC the Contessa di la Pasta comes from a family of restaurant owners including such names as: Taormina, Cafe Biondo, & Il Fornaio. She will delight audiences with her Little Italy personality and street smart background chalked with many colorful stories. Some free food tastings might also be in the works.
4:00 Italian Liqueur Tasting
6:00 Bocce Ball Winners Announced - Watch as Tony Ceresoli awards a nice cash prize to the winning team and the announcement of the NIAF scholarship. Please thank the teams for participating in such a wonderful event.
6-8:00 Performance by Dean Martin crooner Pat Farenga, wine garden mingling, dancing, drum circle, and celebrating the culmination of Olive OilFEST 2008
8:00 Exhibitor Wrap Up - Sad that the fun ended so soon but we will see you again at the 2009 International Olive Oil Festival.
