The Fifth Annual International Food Festival in Houlton on Saturday was much more than a food tasting, it was a celebration of the town’s diversity and the community they share.
There were 32 nations represented at the Rotary event, which has more than tripled in size since it started five years ago with food from nine countries.
“The world is meant to meet,” said Ruba Haddad Bossie, Rotary International Service Chairwoman during the opening ceremonies at Houlton Middle High School. “Food has always traveled, recipes crossed borders, ingredients mix, traditions evolve, every dish you taste today carries a journey and in many ways so do we.”
People often assume that Aroostook County isn’t diverse because its geographically isolated and census demographics report a 93% white population. But the festival celebrated food, family and cultural traditions from Jamaica to China, Colombia to Scotland, the Phillipines, Haiti, Portugal, Romania, Antigua, Australia, Samoa, Jordan, South Korea, the UK, Switzerland, France and many more.
“Our neighbors have lived, worked, studied, served in the military, traveled, married into families from around the world, immigrated here, or maintained deep cultural ties to other countries,” said Rotary President Johanna Johnston. “When you start asking people to share their stories, you quickly realize the world is already here — we just don’t always take the time to celebrate it.”
On Saturday, the festival opened with the international chefs and their families, who live in Houlton, sharing their heritage with attendees.
“Two chefs with Filipino roots and two incredible women from China are meeting one another for the first time today,” Haddad Bossie said. “Two remarkable local business owners who are also close friends are proudly representing Romania, Switzerland and Germany. And my dear friend is proudly representing my first home, Jordan.”
Over the years, the Houlton Rotary event has evolved into a celebration not just of the world’s countries, but of the stories of the people who call the southern Aroostook region home. During Saturday’s event people shared stories of remembrance, gratitude and compassion without borders, Haddad Bossie said.
“I’m from the Ukraine, but I married a Romanian guy so I have Ukrainian, Romanian kids here,” one woman said.
Martine McClusky and her daughter Tabitha represented Haiti with a national Haitian rice. Salvador, Heizelle and Beverly Rodriguez represented the Philippines with Pancit Bihon, Biko and Lumpiang Shanghai.
This was Chunyan Meng’s first time cooking for the festival. Meng is from China and she lives in The County with her family during the summer months but winters in Tennessee.
“It’s too cold here,” she said.
Meng made several Chinese New Year snacks including Macho, Mawah and Lunjiao Gao.
To pull off such an undertaking and to make it free to the public, the chefs prepared food for hundreds to taste. There were 70 volunteers and more than 32 local business, organization or individual sponsors for the countries represented.
“The energy in the gym was amazing from start to finish, and we’re so grateful to our volunteers, country hosts, sponsors, performers, and everyone who attended,” said Johnston. “We don’t have an official attendance count, but it was one of the largest crowds we’ve seen for the festival, and the response from the community exceeded our expectations.”
Rotary raised funds at the event to support ShelterBox and World Central Kitchen.
“We were absolutely thrilled with how the International Food Festival came together,” Johnston said. “It was incredible to see our community embrace the opportunity to celebrate cultures from around the world while supporting Rotary’s international humanitarian efforts.”
