On August 18th, The 15th Calgary Korean Day Festival was held at West Hillhurst Community Association. Despite the cold and smoky weather outside, a lot of attendees joined the festival.
This was my first time visiting the annual Calgary Korean Day Festival. The festival took place on a huge open-field which different activities were taking place.
First thing when I arrived to the festival was of course, food. There was a couple of food tents that each sold a different type of Korean dish, such as 떡볶이 (stir-fried rice cakes), 불고기 (bulgogi), 만두 (dumplings), 육개장 (spicy beef soup), 김밥 (gimbap/kimbap), 떡 (rice cakes), 호두과자 (walnut cakes), and 빙수 (shaved ice).
In order to purchase the food, you had to purchase a $10 ticket which went towards one of the dishes (some of the food items excluded the use of the ticket).
I decided on trying the 떡볶이 (stir-fried rice cakes), 만두 (dumplings), and 김밥 (gimbap/kimbap). I must say, the 만두 (dumplings) was one of the best ones I had eaten (I really should have ordered another one).
Food ticket, 떡볶이 (stir-fried rice cakes), 만두 (dumplings), and 김밥 (gimbap/kimbap)
After eating, I walked around the rest of the festival. The festival included other tents, such as informational booths of sponsors and local businesses, and two bouncy castles for kids.
There was also a tent where you could go and try-on traditional Korean clothing, and have a photo taken.
Other activity tents, you could play traditional Korean games such as 딱지(ddakji), 투호 (tuho), and 비석치기. Or you can do some crafts and paint a lantern, fan or mask.
Lastly, I sat down on the grass and watch some of the stage performances. There was a various of performances happening (which I did not get to see all of them) such as K-pop dance covers, singing, dance and music performances, and martial arts demonstrations.
As a first time visitor to the festival, it was a great and fun experience to attend and see!
Please leave a comment if you visited the festival or what is your local Korean Day Festival like?
