Pan American Music and Food Festival Toronto (PANAMFEST)

The whole of the Americas gathered in one place…? Awesome. The 5th edition of the Pan American Music and Food Festival took place at the Younge-Dundas square on the 25th-26th August 2018 and admission was free.

The festival, which is in its 6th year is produced by ArtsXplosion, a non-profit organisation. It is a celebration of the rich culture, diverse cuisine, music and art of the Americas.

Panamerica encompasses North, Central, South America and the Caribbeans, 41 countries in total.

Ecuadorian food and music were the focus of PANAMFEST 2018 which had up to 50000 visitors at the 2-day event. The weather was very good with temperatures in their mid-20s (deg C).

PANAMFEST Toronto was the last of the food festivals I attended in summer 2018. There were various kinds of food, dancing, live music, food demonstrations, eating competition etc.

In attendance were restaurants, food producers, chefs and a good variety of vendors representing different countries. You could see and taste the similarities in some of their cuisine while noticing the regional differences.

Also noticeable is the influence over the years through interaction with other countries that have come in contact with some of these countries.

There were different types of empanadas: savoury, sweet, beef, chicken, vegetable even a Yukamada or Empanada de yuca, which is empanada made with yuka or cassava flour.

Of course, there was the delightful Coxinha. I was schooled on the proper pronunciation of coxinha (Koh-sheen-ya) by the lovely lady from Brasil. Also tortilla, tamales, tacos, pupusas, fresh juices.