The Ninth Avenue International Food Festival

New York City is renowned the world over for its multi-cultural character.  Such is the allure of the erstwhile ‘Big Apple’, that it attracts people from all over the globe who come to New York City in search of fame and fortune.  The city has a rich immigrant history which has contributed greatly to its  diversity and one of the best ways for a visitor to witness this aspect of New York City, is to take in one of the city’s biggest food festivals namely the annual Ninth Avenue International Food Festival.

The Ninth Avenue International Food Festival which is held typically on the weekend after Mothers Day, made its debut on New York City’s summer street fair calendar in 1973.  Since then this two day festival which is held along 9th Avenue on the west side of Manhattan and extends from W37th toW 57th streets has attracted record crowds every year. It is estimated that more than a  million people, both local New Yorkers and visitors attend this’ ode to global foods’ every year. This year the Ninth Avenue Food Festival is slated to be held on the  15th and 16th of May from 9.30am to 6.30pm on each day.

Summer street fairs in New York City are eagerly anticipated events which are held one every weekend during the three month long summer season in New York City. New Yorkers often have to endure long harsh, frigid winters which are typical of the north eastern coast of the USA and when summer rolls along they try and make the most of it by spending all their time outdoors in the warm weather.  It is for this reason these summer street fairs enjoy immense popularity in New York City as they usually feature a wide assortment of vendors who sell handmade jewelry, artifacts, plants, artworks, inexpensive clothes, cosmetics, soft furnishings and all sorts of wonderful foods over a stretch of streets in the city which are usually closed to vehicular traffic for the event.

The Ninth Avenue International Food Festival is much more than an ordinary, run of the mill New York City Street fair for it aims to highlight the global character of the neighborhood it represents. The Ninth Avenue International Food Festival is mainly concentrated within a neighborhood of New York City which is known as Hell’s Kitchen. This rough and tumble  neighborhood which is now a major  entertainment, transportation and infrastructure center in Manhattan was once home to the city’s Irish-American and Puerto Rican working class populations. Today Hell’s Kitchen which is in the throes of gentrification like many other New York City neighborhoods continues to host a wide array of ethnic food stores and fine restaurants that serve a plethora of global cuisines.

The Ninth Avenue International Food Festival is a celebration of the unique character of this neighborhood that enjoys the active participation of several area restaurants and local community organizations. At this fantastic food festival you can expect to taste various exotic cuisines which are not usually found at the other street fairs like Argentinean, Ethiopian, Cajun, Indonesian, Polish, Senegalese, Spanish, Thai, Caribbean, Moroccan cuisines along with many more though the festival also offers up the usual suspects like  mozzarepas, zeppolis, funnel cakes, and egg creams which are found at regular weekend street fairs.

The restaurants situated along Ninth Avenue also participate enthusiastically  in the celebration and put up stalls outside their establishments along with the food vendors. While doing the rounds of the festival you can expect to sample the  fare offered by many of the area restaurants like Nasi Goereng and corn fritters with shrimp from the Indonesian restaurant  Bali Nusah Indah, chorizo sandwiches from the Esposito Pork Shop, oysters and clams from restaurants like Central Fish and Sea Breeze, gumbos, crab cakes and chicken curry from Chantale’s Cajun Kitchen, salt and pepper squid from Siam Grill, pad thai and dumplings from Wondee Siam, carrot cake and apple pie from the Little Pie Company, jambalaya and broiled craw fish from Delta Grill and breads, brownies, cookies from Amy’s Breads along with many more.

These food stalls are usually interspersed with stages which feature much live entertainment and this year they are scheduled to showcase   Egyptian belly dancers, German folk dancers, Arab scarf dancers and the New York Celtic Dancers who will perform the traditional highland dances and music of  Scotland along with  the jazz dancing duo Midori and Chad, who will perform a variety of routines. Aside from these dancers the stages will also feature many local bands and musicians.

If you are in New York City on the scheduled days of the Ninth Avenue International Food Festival you must make it a point to visit the food fair  and sample all wondrous delights that seem to truly represent the cultural melting pot that is New York City. Find a NYC hotel deal for your stay during this festival.

The best way to access the Ninth Avenue International Food Festival is by subway for Ninth Avenue is usually closed to traffic on the two days of the food fest. You can either use the A,C,E( blue lines) of the New York City subway to get to the Port Authority terminal at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue or even the C,E, trains  to 50th street and 8th Avenue and then just walk over to Ninth Avenue for the food fair.