Home » Diversitastic! Dining Experience
Each month (Jan – October*) there is a Diversitastic! Dining Experience featuring a different country/culture. The experience at a locally-owned restaurant/food vendor, includes an authentical multi-course meal, from appetizer to dessert, and a program of music and/or dance, as well as cultural and chef presentations and maybe a fun culturally-specific game with prizes. You get a full “taste” of the culture.
*In June there are four Culinary Fusion Contest dinners that feature seven chefs each night competing to create the best fusion dish, but they require a separate ticket.
November 30, December 1 – dozens of food vendors at the 2024 Multicultural Festival
Locations subject to change with 30 days notice. Usually taking place the last week of each month.
Purchase the Ate (8) Pass and receive $50 off on eight seatings that can be used at eight different monthly Dining experiences or for eight people at one – or any combination thereof. While most Diversitastic! Dining Experiences sell out, we will guarantee seats for Ate (8) Pack holders until 2 weeks before the experience. You must redeem your seats by then in order for us to guarantee seats. A reminder email will be sent a few days before that deadline to remind you to put in your reservation.
Ate (8) Pack holders also get 10% off purchase of Culinary Fusion Contest experiences in June. The discount can be used for one, two, three or all four Culinary Fusion Contest experiences. That discount is good for purchase of a maximum of one ticket per night per Ate (8) Pack.
Ate (8) Pack $430 – a savings of $50!
Savings of $50
Guaranteed & preferential seating at each D!D event** (excluding Culinary Contest)
Reminder emails 18 days prior to each D!D event.
No fee ticket transfer from one upcoming event to another.
Discounted & First access to Culinary Fusion Contest tickets
** must reserve 2 weeks in advance for guaranteed seating
In June, grab one of just 30 seats to taste, with the judges, seven fusion concoctions by chefs competing for a $1,000 prize. There are four nights of the competition with different chefs and combinations each night. Tickets $75 per night. Come one night, two nights, three nights or for all four! A winner announced each night and the grand prize winner announced on the final night.
January – Laos @ Sticky Rice
February – Germany @ Hollerbach’s German Restaurant
March – Trinidad & Tobago @ Caribbean Shack
April – Palestine @ Jerusalem Restaurant
May – Japan @ JUJU
June – Culinary Arts Contest r – @ La Fiesta Cancun, Mexico
July – Eritrea @ Selam Ethiopian & Eritrean Cuisine
August – Fiji @ 1010 West
September – Hispanic American @ Black Rooster Taqueria (Curry Ford)
October – Mexico @ La Fiesta Cancun
January – India @ Curry Mantra
February – South Africa @ Serengeti Restaurant
March – Korea @ Oshio Korean BBQ
April – Poland @ Anna’s Polish Restaurant
May – Cuba @ Black Bean Deli
June – Fusion Cooking Contest @ Valencia
July – Venezuela @ Q’Kenan
August – Ukraine @ St. Mary Protectress Catholic Church
September – Morocco @ TajineXpress
October – Southern Soul Food @ Nikki’s Place
January – Italy @ Tornatore’s
February – China @ Taste of Chengdu
March – Ireland @ Harp & Celt
April – Thailand @ Naradeva Thai
May – Polynesia @ Sweet & Salty Island Grindz
June – Puerto Rico @ Crocante Rotisserie Kitchen
July –Texas, USA – Cecil’s BBQ
August – Nigeria @ Flavors Nigerian
September – Peru @ Aji Ceviche Bar
October – Yemen @ Kabsah
January – Ethiopia @ The Nile
February – Brazil @ Boi Brazil
March – Vietnam @ Veggie Garden
June – Turkey @ Turquaz Turkish Cuisine
July – Russia @ Lacomka
August – South Pacific @ Kong’s Kitchen
September – Haiti @ Justin’s Caribbean Fusion
October – Portugal @ Lisbon Portuguese Cuisine
EIN: 85-2245857
Charitable Solicitation Registration #CH64442
A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Division of Consumer Services by calling Toll-Free 800-435-7352 within the State. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the State.
STELLA ARBELAEZ
Heritage: Colombia
Coming from a well-educated family and a good elementary education in Bogotá, Colombia, where she was considered “too energetic,” Stella’s family sent her, and her mother to the US to better afford higher education for all her siblings. She came to Queens, NY, where an aunt owned a gas station. During her high School years, although she was not fluent in English, she was accepted into an arts high school. After completing a BFA in Fine Arts Illustration, she continued with art classes and worked in the design field. That eventually led to a position with Walt Disney Animation in Orlando.
Her family suffered a number of tragedies – her father was killed in Colombia, her mother was killed in the US, her sister was dying of cancer.
Through the Disney connection she met a Californian and moved there to get married. After the birth of her daughter, she pursued a degree in early childhood education and devoted her life to her family. Her husband and his friends did not speak Spanish. She was not allowed to speak Spanish at the dinner table, and gradually lost touch with her Colombian heritage. She became a surprisingly “well- adapted” exotic person, rather than a true representation of her culture. An annual trip to a Colombian restaurant for her birthday and trips to visit her relatives in South Florida were the sole ties to Colombian culture.
While visiting her extended family in Florida, her marriage ended traumatically. This sent her into a couple of years of dark depression and self-condemnation. For her 48th birthday, she joined a Meet-Up group for a 4-day hike to the Appalachian Trail. “With every step I took”, she recalls, “I felt more alive. I felt the blood rush to my legs and my heart pumping to get me through the next mile.” Hiking the Florida National Scenic Trail in 2020, while reflecting on the person she had been, the person she now was, and the person she still wanted to be, led her back to art. Her mantra became, “Nature heals.”
Also, visiting her extended family in South Florida, she felt enveloped by the love and warmth of her childhood in Colombia with dance parties where they would dance salsa, merengue, and cumbia until the wee hours of the night, reveling in their festive traditions. Her little dog, Bobo, is a faithful companion.
MICHEAL ELLIOTT
Hi there, I am a writer, director & cinematographer local to the St.Pete area. I have worked on short films, commercials, and a couple of feature films, mainly in the camera or lighting department. I have also worked on several passion projects like “The Beat Within,” which was a short documentary following a women-led drum circle in Dunedin. I was an editor for a few years prior to trying my hand at shooting, so I shoot with the edit in mind. I am a South African-born immigrant who moved to the United States to study business management but fell in love with filmmaking and telling stories after being here for a few years. My direction changed from economics to making movies and telling stories. I believe documentary work is vital and important in current media and entertainment, especially to tell the stories of those who do not have a voice and are under represented. I would love to participate in your event and look forward to the challenge and excitement!