Twenty food vendors and a demonstration kitchen representing some of the more adventuresome cuisine of the world will be among the highlights of the Living Traditions Festival which runs for three days beginning Friday. The festival, which also features craftspeople, musicians, and dancers, is a major public event, being presented for the 23rd consecutive year by the Salt Lake City Arts Council.

There will be basque steak sandwiches; puaka tuna (Tongan roast pork with spices); Bolivian salchipapas (fried hot dog and potato slices); Tibetan momos (dumplings); Filipino turon (banana and jack fruit with brown sugar wrapped like an eggroll); Scottish forfar bridie (a beef-filled pastry flavored with potato and onions); Vietnamese and Thai dishes; Bosnian pot (a beef soup), and Sudanese kabobs. Revenue is re-invested into the respective cultural organizations to fund additional programming.

One of the most popular festival features will be the demonstration kitchen at the southeast corner of the festival grounds, located at the Salt Lake City and County Building in downtown. HomeCooks and Kimball Distributing also will sponsor the demonstration kitchen. Hosted by Jim Light, a professional chef and culinary instructor, the demonstrations will highlight the following:

Saturday, May 17:

African Sukuma Wiki with Sadza — Sabina Zunguze of Zimbabwe will use leftover meat with greens, vegetables, peanut butter and spices.

Bulgarian Kebapcheta — Nikolaj Ivanov of Sofia will prepare the country’s signature sausage dish.

Bun Bo Xao Xa — Linh Ho will create the dish more commonly known as Vietnamese beef with lemon grass and rice noodles.

Sunday, May 18:

Turkish Gozleme — Ayse Durmus of Turkey will demontsrate a traditional hand-rolled savory pastry.

Austrian Wiener Schnitzel — David Foulger will create an iconic dish — a breaded tenderized slice of meat served with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Bangladesh Shrimp Curry and Green Beans — Tahmina Martelly will use recipes passed down over three generations of her family to prepare green beans and shrimp curry with rice and peas.

Admission is free to all events. In addition to various entertainment stages, there will be crafts demonstrations, bocce ball games, and films. For more information, visit here.