Riverdale RiverFest 2012

Riverdale RiverFest 2012

Riverdale RiverFest banner

Allen and I had a great time at the Riverdale RiverFest, Sunday, June 24, 2012 at the College of Mount Saint Vincent, Marillac Lawn, Riverdale Avenue at West 263rd Street. The beautiful campus and plentiful trees provided shade for the food vendors, and seating areas for guests to rest and dine out of the direct sun. The weather was sunny, hot and it was also Allen's birthday. Riverdale RiverFest was a well attended and great event by the Hudson River and Allen was glad it fell on his birthday.


Liebman's Kosher Deli

The first thing we did was check out the various food vendors and we were impressed. The vendors covered diverse ethnic cuisines and there were many arts & crafts vendors, exhibits, music and even The Children's Museum bus. There were boat rides on the Hudson throughout the day for individuals who made reservations ahead of time. The Boat Rides and Waterfront Program featured The John J. Harvey Fireboat, A.J. Meerwood Tail Ship Sails, The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and Our Hudson, Railroad Barge of a restored Pennsylvania Railroad Barge No. 399. Maybe next year we will do the boat ride. The festival celebrated the waterfront with boat rides, and more importantly is a project of the Hudson River Greenway. The Hudson River Greenway want the community to have access to the waterfront for both the railroad and the Greenway.

Oaxaca Taqueria

Main stage performers featured The Sloe Guns, Riverdale Children's Theatre, Irish Folk Singer, Mary Courtney, Riverdale Choral Society, The Traveling Jewburys and Mark The Harper. Other main stage performers included ABADA – Capoeira Bronx, The Newton Gang, Riverdale Rising Stars, Jr. and Genetic Control.

Allen holding one of his faves, El Yucateco Green Sauce

Special Performances and Highlights of the festival included the Nitchen's Children Cultural Center of Native America performing a "Native Dance" and storytelling. Bronx Historian, Lloyd Ultan gave a talk and guitarist Steve Oates performed renditions of classic jazz and pop. Comedienne and clown Becca Bernard entertained the children and even joked with us as we were passing her.


Souvlaki GR

The Society For Creative Anachronism held an Archery demonstration, Fencing, Rattan medieval Fighting, presentation by Team USA - Battle of the Nations and live steel fighting. There was a class on Armor making and a demonstration on "How Archery Works." They also offered classes in origami, medieval cooking (see picture), chainmail making, medieval mask making, blowing glass beads and medieval games.


Allen with Baron Ambrosia

One of the highlights of the Riverdale RiverFest was meeting and getting a picture with Bronx food connoisseur Baron Ambrosia from Bronx Flavor and Cooking Channel's, The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia. We are huge fans of the Baron and were so happy to meet him. We hope to feature him very soon.


Me with Baron Ambrosia

Some exhibits were from these fine organizations: Bronx County Historical Society, Bronx River Alliance, Friends of the Hudson River Greenway, GrowNYC Recycling, Grow NYC Youth Market, Riverdale Nature Preservancy, Riverdale/Yonkers Society For Ethical Culture and Wild Dog Foundation. Visit the Riverdale RiverFest site for a detailed list on the participating organizations and supporters of the event. See below for links.


The Candy Box & Gelato Shoppe

It was great to finally meet Barbara Tallerman from Food For All People and The Bronx Mall, a resident of Riverdale who has served the community for many years. Congressman Eliot Engel and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz were also present at the festival.


Las Delicias Patisserie

We spoke to Frank Vincenti from The Wild Dog Foundation and learned about Coyotes of the Bronx in Pelham Park and Van Cortlandt Park. Frank provided Allen with a lot of information about wild dogs. This organization supports a great cause and we were glad to meet the founder.


Fauzia's Heavenly Delights

Allen spoke with someone from Friends of Van Cortlandt Park and got park information and upcoming events.
 

The Cheese Guy

We visited the Riverdale YM-YWHA booth and learned about their new synergy indoor heated pool (salt, UV lit filtered water and minimum chlorine) and fitness programs. We also got information about the Riverdale Y Sunday Market held every Sunday from 9:00AM -2:00PM until November 11, 2012 at MS/HS 141 in the arcade, Independence Avenue & West 237th Street.


Guyank Brand, LLC

Food vendors are an important component of an outdoor festival and a big reason we came to Riverdale RiverFest. What follows are food vendors we visited and photographed. I had a hot dog with sauerkraut and mustard from Liebman's Kosher Deli, a staple for the Riverdale community and a Bronx landmark since 1953. Liebman's Kosher Deli offers Hebrew National hot dogs, homemade knishes and more.


Lloyd's Carrot Cake

Lloyd's Carrot Cake is a Riverdale favorite for over 25 years and served their signature carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and red velvet cake and other sweets. Lloyd's Carrot Cake offer a range of baked goods from made-from-scratch cakes, pies, and muffins. They also have a location in NYC. I bought the red velvet cake and it was delightfully rich, velvety and moist with cream cheese frosting. It was a pleasure to meet Lloyd's daughter who has carried on her father's legacy. Stay tuned for a full feature interview in the near future.


Allen holding my piece of Red Velvet Cake from Lloyd's Carrot Cake

Oaxaca Taqueria feature traditional Mexican fare and food is cooked fresh everyday. They currently have two Brooklyn locations and two in NYC. I photographed Allen with one of his favorite hot sauces El Yucateco Green Sauce, a spicy compliment for Mexian food offered here.


Apple Cider from Migliorelli Farm, I bought one

Fauzia's Heavenly Delights served Caribbean-Nouveau and multi-ethnic fusion featuring jerk and curried chicken, grilled fish and several vegetarian dishes.

Las Delicias Patisserie offer French, Italian and South American pastries. I bought lavender cookies and they were crunchy and buttery with a lovely hint of lavender.


Medieval Cooking

Souvlaki GR from the Lower East Side served traditional char-grilled souvlaki and Greek fries. Employees were rocking shirts with Anthony Bourdain's name. The gyros looked amazing and we loved the huge stack of pita bread that Allen thought was the largest pita bread he has ever seen.

Artist Daniel Hauben, beautiful work

The Riverdale Y Greenmarket Corner:
The Riverdale Y Greenmarket Corner featured Guyank Brand's Orignial Sweet-Hot Pepper Sauce and we met the owner. Allen sampled the various hot sauces, and loved the heat from the habanero pepper and the inricate flavors of heat and sweet. Allen purchased two of the hot sauces for an upcoming feature. The Guyank Brand Hot Sauces are made in Brooklyn and the company is based in Queens. Allen thinks every chili fan needs to check out Guyank Brand.

Frank Vincenti, Wild Dog Foundation

Bread Alone sold hand-crafted organic breads, pastries, and pies.

The Cheese Guy from Yonkers, NY sold over fifteen kinds of artisan kosher cheeses. Allen really enjoyed meeting him, loved everything he sampled and bought three cheeses for a future feature. Two of the cheeses have hot peppers in the ingredients.


FromTheBronx

I bought Apple Cider from Migliorelli Farm from Dutchess County and look forward to drinking it.

I met artist Daniel Hauben and loved the art he was creating at the fest. Right next to him was FromTheBronx who sell Bronx apparel, accessories, posters, cards, prints and more.

Here are some links to check out. For a detailed list of the participants and supporters, go to the Riverdale RiverFest page (link below):

Bread Alone – www.breadalone.com/

Bronx Flavor – www.bronxflavor.com/

Fauzia's Heavenly Delights – http://fauziasheavenlydelights.blogspot.com/

Food For All People – www.bronxmall.com/food/

FromTheBronx – http://www.fromthebronx.com/

Guyank Brand, LLC – http://www.guyankbrand.com/, http://www.guyankbrand.blogspot.com/

Las Delicias Patisserie – http://www.lasdeliciaspatisserie.com/

Liebman's Kosher Deli – http://www.liebmansdeli.com/

Lloyd's Carrot Cake – www.lloydscarrotcake.com/

Migliorelli Farm – www.migliorelli.com/

Oaxaca Revulcion de Taco – www.oaxacatacos.com/

Riverdale RiverFest – www.riverdaleriverfest.org/

Souvlaki GR – www.souvlakigr.com/

The Bronx Mall – www.bronxmall.com/

The Candy Box & Gelato Shoppe – http://www.thecandyboxonline.com/

The Cheese Guy – www.thecheeseguy.com/

The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia, Cooking Channel – www.cookingchanneltv.com/the-culinary-adventures-of-baron-ambrosia/the-culinary-adventures-of-baron-ambrosia/index.html

The Riverdale Y Sunday Market – www.riverdaley.org/index.php

The Wild Dog Foundation – http://www.wilddog.org/

-Sophia and Allen/Two Frys