'A Moveable Feast'
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Calidocious Inc.® sponsors fourteen festivals each year. The purpose of
these festivals is to
increase interest among Americans in 'California Dutch©".
The first festival, Chocolapolis, is meant to coincide with
the the 'Chocolate Festival' of Brugges in May. Brugges is the
chocolate capital of Flanders. The last festival, Furthermore, doesn't
have a set date.
The word "Zee" comes from the Dutch word for 'Sea', as in "New Zealand".
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Official Festival Food- "True Fries" |
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Dutch Chips and Burgundy Dip |
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In addition to highlighting various activities and chocolates of
Flanders, the Calidocious® festivals are meant to showcase the country's fine
cuisine.
Flemish cooking mixes the heartiness of Dutch and German cooking, with
the sophisticated sauces and flavors of French cuisine. There are more Michelin Restaurant stars per person in
Flanders than anywhere else!
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The hallmark Belgian dish is "French" Fries, which actually originated in Belgium, not France.
"Belgian Fries" differ from American style fries in that they are fried
twice at different temperatures. This gives "True Fries"©,
a more complex taste that goes very well with sauces.
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"Adding Spice to Life!" |
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'12 Monthfuls of Fun'©
-January- 'Popsical'-
festival. Keywords: Holland, 'Dances on Water', Ice and Snow Sports,
Eleven Cities Skating Marathon of Holland, Hans Brinker, The Netherlands. The featured chocolate is Hot Chocolate.
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Wollman Rink |
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Columbus Circle- Time Warner T.V. Studios |
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| -February- 'Gadzoots' festival. Keywords: Carnival, Humor, Urbanus- King of Flemish Comedy, 'Zoot Schtick'.
The Flemish have a sense of humor similar to English humor. Being able
to make others laugh is highly valued skill. The best comedians of
Flanders are more highly regarded than the Prime Minister! The featured chocolates are chocolates with liquors.
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-March- 'Velocity' festival (The french word for bicycle is 'velo'). Key words: Bicycling and Waffles.
The Flemish are avid cyclers and are world leaders in cross-country
bicycling. (This is different than mountain biking because regular
bicycles are used.) The featured chocolate is mocha, or coffee with chocolate.
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West Drive |
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The Carousel |
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| -April- "Lacrosse" ("Big sticks") festival. Key words: Lacrosse, Battle of the Golden Spurs, Middle Ages, and French Fries. The medieval 'Battle of the Golden Spurs' is the defining moment in the
history of Flanders. LaCrosse, "The Little Brother of War", was the
defining sport of the Native Americans. (It is also the national summer
sport of Canada.)
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Featured Chocolates are chocolate milk shakes.
The festival also features Belgian "True Fries"©
and complimentary sauces. There is perhaps no snack better suited for
a chilly day than a basket of Belgian fries, plus Mayonaise with a
touch of Dijon (Burgundy) mustard.
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North Meadow |
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Belvedere Castle |
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| -May- "Sarifornia©", or "Burgundy Lite©"-"Burgundelight©" festival. Keywords: Burgundy, France, Picnics. Celebrates
the burgundian region of Europe, as well as the coastal wine-growing areas of
California. The burgundians were, and are, known for their good food and vibrant culture. Featured chocolates are chocolate pastries.
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-June- "Calliope" festival. Keywords: Music Festivals and Jazz. June is the beginning of the music festival mega-season in Flanders. Flanders hosts more music festivals per capita than anywhere else. The holiday also features mussels- the pinnacle of Flemish cuisine. Featured chocolates are chocolates with fruits, such as cherries, oranges, and coconuts.
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Near Naumburg Bandshell |
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East Hudson River |
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| -July- "Sequoia"
festival-
Keywords: Sequoia, Vercingetorix, Celts and Fire, Asterix, outdoors, hiking, camping, and "Old Firefall©"- a play on
"Old Shatterhand and Winnetou" -two Wild West heroes of Dutch (via
German) literature.
Featured chocolate is chocolate ice cream.
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-August- "Asterikos"
festival. ('Asterikos' means "little star" in Greek and is the source
of the word 'asterisk'.) Keywords: Science and Technology. The Flemish take great interest in science, particularly the applied
sciences. They look forward to technological advances and challenges of the future. A featured activity is astronomy lessons.
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Museum of Natural History |
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The 'Asterikos' featured chocolate is "S'mores"-
a contraction of "Some more". A "S'more" is an American campfire
sandwich made of a layer of bar-chocolate, plus a layer
of roasted marshmallow, squeezed between two
honey-graham crackers.
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John Lennon Memorial |
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| -September- "Passiondale" festival. Keywords: War, Peace, and Soccer. In
addition
to paying tribute to the unifying character of Soccer, (Association
Football), the festival is meant to be a reminder of, and
contrast to, the terrible conflicts that have taken place in Flanders
in the last 100 years.
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One of the most tragic battles
of all time was the Passiondale battle in Flanders in WWI. Over a
period of six months Allied Forces fought German forces in hideous
trench warfare using mustard gas, etc. The battle cost over 500,000
lives and was a strategic draw. The red Passiondale poppy has become
the symbol of the battle.
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The holiday also commemorates Saint Damian, a Flemish priest who, despite criticism, ministered to the lepers of Hawaii, and the American commander in Belgium in
WWII who replied "Nuts" when told by Germans to surrender or face
annihilation.
The featured chocolate is chocolate with nuts.
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Great Lawn North Fields |
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Tavern on the Green |
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| -October- 'Oktoberfest' Keywords: Octoberfest, Beer, Ale, Germany, German language.
The festivities celebrates contributions from all the Germanic
countries to beer and chocolate making. (The "secret" for
making chocolate melt in your mouth, for example, was discovered in
Switzerland.). The featured chocolate is chocolate spread.
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-November- "Fugezi©" festival. Keyword "Graphic Arts". Celebrates Flemish craftsmanship, particularly in
the graphic arts- with special emphasis on comic strips. Proceeds from the festival will promote the Fughezi© museum (featured in the web page of "Zoot Cache"). Featured chocolates are pralines.
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Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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Grand Army Plaza-FAO Schwarz |
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| -December- "Opitium©" festival. Keywords: Christmas and "Oppidum"(Roman outpost).
Features Christmas festivities, as well as the Roman and Catholic legacies of Flanders. Featured chocolates are dark chocolates, or chocolates with maximum cocoa
content. European chocolates traditionally have a higher chocolate
content than American chocolates.
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December is also the month of the "Alphabet Tree",
which
celebrates the gift of language. Decorations for the Alphabet Tree
include brightly-colored ornaments in the form of alphabet letters
and chocolate coins.
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14x More Fun! |
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