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L.A. Tofu Festival a Success

Soaring temperatures could not deter over 30,000 people from attending the seventh annual Tofu Festival Aug. 10 and 11 in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. The weekend extravaganza, benefiting the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), centered on the healthy advantages of tofu and soy, and featured a host of Southern California’s eateries, lively musical performances, martial arts and cooking demonstrations, and a children’s arts and crafts pavilion.

Traditional Kodama Taiko drummers inaugurated the festivities, whose theme this year, “Good For the Heart, Good For the Community,” was reflected in the array of tofu-flavored salads, main dishes and desserts offered to the public.

The first annual cooking competition and tofu-eating contest showcased the versatility of the soy-based product that is made by pulverizing soy beans, boiling the mash, filtering it, and then adding calcium or sea salt to coagulate the curds. A staple in Asian cuisine for over 2,000 years, tofu’s nutritional benefits have become widely popular among people of diverse backgrounds.

Patricia Greenberg, noted chef and author of The Whole Soy Cookbook, explained that tofu has 25 to 50 percent less calories than beef but contains as much calcium as milk and can provide 27 percent of the daily allowance of protein.

In addition to various sponsors and food booths, the festival included the third annual Health and Fitness Expo featuring hands-on sporting activities such as a rock climbing and a slam-dunk basketball competition. Yoga instructors, shiatsu massage therapists, nutritionists, medical health screeners and a foot reflexologist offered the crowd a variety of healthy options.

Sharon Davis, California’s First Lady, serving as an honorary chairperson along with husband Gov. Gray Davis, made a special appearance to honor LTSC’s commitment to the community since 1979. LTSC has distinguished itself in Southern California by providing a domestic violence shelter, mental-health counseling, crisis hotlines and in 1997 establishing its award-winning Casa Heiwa project for low-income senior housing.

— Brandon Shamim