[StBernard] Free "La Comida de los Islenos" discussion on Oct 20

[Westley Annis]

On October 20, 2009, members of the Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural
Society, the Serving St Bernard Project and Voices of Louisiana will
join Sara Roahen, author of “Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New
Orleans Table” for a panel discussion on the unique food traditions of
St. Bernard.  The event will begin at 6:30 PM at the Community Center
of St Bernard, 1107 LeBeau St, Arabi, and will focus on St. Bernard’s
distinctive Isleños food influences, which were passed down by
Spanish-speaking settlers from the Canary Islands in the late 1700s. 

Speakers at the event will include Ronda DeForest of the Voices
Foundation and Flour Power Confectionary, Rose Marie Sand of the
Voices Foundation, and Dot Benge, Cinda Melerine, and other members of
the Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society. As part of the
discussion, participants will have the opportunity to sample several
traditional Isleños dishes.

The “La Comida de los Isleños” discussion is one in a series of events
being organized by the Young Leadership Council and the Literacy
Alliance of Greater New Orleans as part of the “One Book, One New
Orleans” community-wide reading program. Each year the “One Book”
program encourages residents from across the greater New Orleans area
to engage in the common endeavor of reading the same book at the same
time. Through this shared experience, residents from the many
different communities of Greater New Orleans can come together and
embrace their similarities by reading, discussing, and attending
events relating to the same book.  

This year's “One Book” selection, “Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at
the New Orleans Table” by Sara Roahen, is a colorful, loving portrayal
of New Orleans’ food culture, the rich history behind it, and its
relationship to people, as discovered by Roahen as she turned from
Wisconsin native to New Orleanian at heart. Copies of “Gumbo Tales”
are available at the St Bernard Parish Library, 7701 West Judge Perez
Drive, Arabi and the Community Center of St Bernard, 1107 LeBeau St,
Arabi.

For more information about One Book One New Orleans events, please
visit www.onebookoneneworleans.com . For more information about the
“La Comida de los Isleños” discussion, please contact the Community
Center of St Bernard at 504-281-2512.