FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Dave Amoroso • Ron Sonntag Public Relations
9406 N. 107th St. • Milwaukee, WI 53224
(414) 354-0200, ext. 108 • dave@rspr.com
MILWAUKEE, WIS. – Well-known local restaurateur and caterer Azmi Alaeddin has been named for the second consecutive year as chairman of the Holiday Folk Fair International.
Alaeddin has been a participant in Holiday Folk Fair since 1980, when he was a student at UWM. His participation stepped up tremendously a couple years later when the older couple that maintained Arab participation at Folk Fair retired. “I was a member of an Arab/Palestinian student group then and we had a meeting and decided we needed a presence there. We wanted to keep it alive, but we didn’t know anything about how to do it.”
That first year was a true learning experience for the group, and for Alaeddin who was honing his Middle Eastern cooking skills. “We prepared a very difficult menu and we sold out the first night because we had our food priced too low. We lost money, but by the second year, we had learned a lot. All these years later, I’m still doing food,” he said.
Alaeddin’s interest in cooking began as a child, when the aroma intrigued him in his father’s bakery in Kuwait. In 1995, he opened his first restaurant, Aladdin, which had various locations in the city. Today, Aladdin-Taste of the East/PitaWorks is a popular destination at the Milwaukee Public Market. Alaeddin also caters for special events such as Zoo a la Carte and Bastille Days.
As Folk Fair chairman, Alaeddin sees himself as a cheerleader and spokesperson, urging people to attend the event and appreciate the variety of nationalities and cultures coming together in celebration.
Alaeddin recalled how his own father became a Folk Fair fixture. “When he visited me in Milwaukee from Kuwait, he felt like a stranger. I took him to the Folk Fair and he loved it. He fit in there and enjoyed seeing the traditional dress and the food. He enjoyed seeing Americans from a different perspective, as all the cultures came together. From then on until he passed, he would make sure his visits coincided with Folk Fair, where he would help with the cooking and serving.”
Produced by the International Institute of Wisconsin, Holiday Folk Fair International celebrates the cultural heritage of the people living in southeastern Wisconsin. This year’s theme, “Celebrate Cultures Without Borders,” will allow Fair-goers the opportunity to explore the ways in which music, food, dance, and art enhance racial, cultural, and ethnic cooperation.
The three-day event features the All Nations Theater with traditional music and dance, the World Cafe offering traditional dishes, the International Stage where young people perform their ethnic dances, the Music Pavilion with a variety of musical styles, Heritage Lane with unique traditions and customs through interactive exhibits, the International Bazaar where cultural artifacts create a unique shopping experience, and the Callen Construction Cooking Demonstration Stage featuring local chefs preparing traditional cuisine. Holiday Folk Fair International will also host a United States Citizenship Naturalization Ceremony on Sat., Nov. 19, at 10:30 a.m. and a 5K Run/Walk on Sun., Nov. 20 at 9:00 a.m.
Hours on Fri., Nov. 18 are 2 p.m. – 10 p.m.; 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 19; and 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Sun., Nov. 20. Advance tickets will be sold for $10 each, with family four-packs for $36, and can be purchased on-line at http://www.folkfair.org.
Admission at the gate will be $12 for adults; $10 for children ages 6 to 12 and those 62 and over; children under the age of five will be admitted at no charge. All military personnel with a military ID card will be admitted free.
For more information on the 2011 Holiday Folk Fair International, visit http://www.folkfair.org or call the International Institute of Wisconsin at 414-225-6220.
