Genesee Valley Council on the Arts

Hispanic food, music and art featured at ‘Jamboree’

To mark the opening of two new exhibits in The New Deal Gallery and Apartment One Gallery, Livingston Arts is hosting a Jamboree this Saturday.

From noon to 4 p.m., guests will be able to hear live music, sample Mexican food, and view the new exhibits.

In The New Deal Gallery, information about WPA artists and the places they painted will be displayed along with the artwork. This exhibit will feature the information discovered by our volunteer researcher Paula Henry.

In Apartment One, the exhibit “Keeping it Real” will open, featuring the paintings of L. Mert Wager and the pottery of Kala Stein.

Originally from Niagara Falls, Mert served in World War II as a Seabee company clerk for the Navy in the South Pacific. His realistic landscapes and portraits recreate the Old West, and the current west, in all of its beauty and grandeur.

Kala grew up in Springwater and lives in Canadice. Her ceramic work varies from large-scale installations consisting of expansive groupings to singular utilitarian pots and is based on the notion that the human experience can be reflected through objects.

From 1-3 p.m., Traditional Arts Director Karen Canning presents All Steamed Up, the second presentation in its Festive Foodways series this year. This series explores the role of food in our celebratory traditions and how it connects us to others through family, ethnicity, religion, community, and the land.

We are looking at distinctive decorative skills, symbols, ingredients, presentation, and related arts that embody the unique identities of our featured communities.

All Steamed Up will offer a demonstration and tasting of pasteles and tamales from 1-3 p.m. on June 16, as part of the arts council’s first annual Jamboree.

All Steamed Up will show you how to make Puerto Rican pasteles and Mexican tamales, treats that appear at holidays and family celebrations in these and other Hispanic countries. They share a common technique of a batter with a filling, wrapped up in a leaf or husk and steamed to perfection—but with numerous delicious varieties.

Variations may reflect different ecosystems and available ingredients, such as yucca forming the batter base in Puerto Rico, while in Mexico it is ground corn.

Changes may also stem from season to season or different parts of the meal, such as sweet tamales for dessert as opposed to spiced ones for dinner.

We are pleased to feature local cooks from our community, Olinda Rodriguez, Martina Aguilar and Blanca Rodriquez who will be leading the demonstrations. Attendees will have the chance to try their hand at making items, and samples will be available for tasting.

The Jamboree is open to all ages, with an admission donation of $10/person, age 10 and under free. It will be held on the center lawn outside Livingston Arts, and in the galleries.

You can enjoy All Steamed Up along with the bands Steel Alchemy Community Steelband, Nickel City Band and Stick Boom Papa; and food for sale all day from Dominic’s Cart.

For more information please call Livingston Arts at 243-6785 or visit the website at www.livingstonarts.org to see maps and directions.

The program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature.