Disney's California Food & Wine Festival
“I eat merely to put food out of my mind.”
Taste 2009
Eat, drink and enjoy a party for all the senses! Stage 17 in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot is transformed into a culinary spectacle, showcasing the talents of the finest Disneyland Resort chefs and featuring dozens of wines, beers and spirits. Sample delectable cuisine in "grand tasting" style while enjoying outstanding entertainment performed throughout the evening.
Date: Friday, June 5, 2009 and Saturday, June 6, 2009
Time: 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. each evening
Location: Stage 17, Hollywood Pictures Backlot, Disney's California
Adventure Park
Price: $150 per person, plus tax, gratuity included
Stage 17 is equipped with all the trappings of an actual movie set — programmable lighting and state-of-the-art audio/video systems including a movable stage and a pair of hanging video projection screens. This 10,000-square-foot venue is in Disneyland’s California Adventure, so groups can meet during the park’s regular hours and see the attractions. High-tech lighting, audio, and visual systems, a built-in production booth, a movable stage flanked by hanging video screens, and a food-preparation area make this a one-stop shop for receptions for as many as 900.
We checked in and then waited in line until 8:00 at which time we were escorted to Stage 17
Of course Paul had to be in a wine shirt
Bob and Robin anxiously awaiting the doors to open
It had been an odd week of light rain and storms all over... This evening we were high and dry!
We Are Escorted To Stage 17
Robin and Jeanette are on their way
We walked down Sunset Boulevard
Stage 17
Did you know? - This 10,000-square-foot venue is in Disneyland’s California Adventure, so groups can meet during the park’s regular hours and see the attractions. High-tech lighting, audio, and visual systems, a built-in production booth, a movable stage flanked by hanging video screens, and a food-preparation area make this a one-stop shop for receptions for as many as 900.
We even got the Red Carpet Treatment
Disney's California Adventure is in the midst of its fourth annual
California Food and Wine Festival, offering daily events through June 7
in Anaheim.
It was conceived as a way to give adults something do (and eat) while
the kids enjoyed the rides and attractions, said Gary Magetti, director
of food and beverage for the Disneyland Resort theme parks. This year's
festival “will take guests on a delicious journey around the globe,”
Magetti added.
“What we realized is that food is really part of everyone's
entertainment budget,” said Michael Jordan, master sommelier for the
Disney resort. “This is a way to expand the (theme park) experience and
offer something for everyone's taste.”
We Peeked Inside While Waiting To Get In
Bob knew the make and model of every light in the place!
We did not get a table but standing is a good idea seeing how many trips we made
We all tried everything... Sometimes twice
Jeanette and Joseph came by and shared their findings
The Entertainment Was Nanta
Bored? Take a break with Korea's most popular percussion group, Nanta: Cooking Percussion Group meaning "wild beating."
You can excite yourself with Nanta's music and beats which include comedy actions and glipse of Korean culture. Nanta's energetic percussionists dressed in chef's attire dance with knives as cucumbers, cabbages and onions flying in the air.
Nanta's rhythm is basically composed of loud Korean percussion rhythm called Samulnori music. Samulnori music, with four percussion instruments, was loved hundreds of years in the past by Korean farmers who played the music in the field in their efforts to relieve themselves of laborious farm work.
Nanta music mixes the Samulnori music with a touch of rock and jazz. But the best part of Nanta would be its ability to interact with the audiences who normally find themselves stomping their feet or bobbing your head to the tune of its lively rhythms, making themselves totally refreshed and revitalized at the end of the performance. Nanta music has reaped international acclamations for their mesmerizing performances.
Nanta performed twice during the event
Red carpet treatment
Did you know? - More generally "red carpet
treatment" and "rolling out the red carpet", refer to any special
efforts made in the interests of hospitality.
The earliest known reference to walking a red carpet in literature is in
the play Agamemnon by Aeschylus, written in 458 BC. When the title
character returns from Troy, he is greeted by his vengeful wife
Clytemnestra who offers him a red path to walk upon:
"Now my beloved, step down from your chariot, and let not your foot, my
lord, touch the Earth. Servants, let there be spread before the house he
never expected to see, where Justice leads him in, a crimson path."
Agamemnon, knowing that only Gods walk on such luxury, responds with
trepidation:
"I am a mortal, a man; I cannot trample upon these tinted splendors
without fear thrown in my path."
Oriental carpets in Renaissance painting often show rugs and carpets,
patterned but with red often the main background color, laid on the
steps to a throne, or on a dias where rulers or sacred figures are
placed.
A red carpet was rolled out to a river to welcome the arrival of United
States president James Madison in 1821.[1] A red carpet was likewise
used for the arrival of George W. Bush on his arrival via Air Force One
to Tanzania.
In 1902, The New York Central Railroad used plush crimson carpets to
direct people as they boarded their 20th Century Limited passenger
train. This is believed to be the origin of the phrase "red-carpet
treatment".