Something for Everyone at the Open House
When I hear the term “Open House,” I tend to assume a location will simply open its doors for the public to explore. But what makes the Youngstown Open House unique is the wide variety of special events, community organizations, and guest vendors who are making this a fun-for-all community event. Delicious food, live entertainment, class demonstrations, art giveaways, film screenings, balloons…. I just hope I have the time to get to everything!
I’m particularly looking forward to trying several of the menu items from our participating food trucks: Falafel Salam and Micro Doughnuts.
Falafel Salam is currently in its fourth year of serving gourmet Middle Eastern cuisine. They use top of the line ingredients local to Seattle along with specialty items imported from the Middle East. I appreciate that Falafel Salam offers a wide array of vegetarian and vegan options and their meat dishes use local, sustainable organic chicken. It is the aim of Falafel Salam and its owner, Shimi Kahn, to offer a healthy and satisfying meal experience with respect to long standing traditions. Whether you like your meal regular or spicy, Falafel Salam has something for everyone– I will definitely be trying out their falafel and organic shawarma. I have even discovered that Shimi bakes his own pita bread daily because he is very particular about the texture and taste that accompanies the delicious fillings. Yum!
Or, if you are looking for a treat on the sweeter side, Micro Doughnuts will be serving up their specialty freshly-made mini doughnuts. Micro Doughnuts creates innovative glazes and icings to give you a unique flavor experience. They spent two years perfecting their delicious flavors and customizing their state-of-the-art doughnut trailer to make their tasty creations accessible at festivals, fairs, and farmer’s markets. And they are continually coming up with new and creative flavor options– I’m pretty excited for their Orange Glaze doughnut, and might even try their Maple & Bacon!
But the event is not just for foodies and art-lovers– the day will be full of family-friendly attractions. Sean Chambers, who has been working as a balloon artist for 13 years, is generously lending his talents and will be twisting balloons for anyone who wants one. Whether making a dog or sword for the kids or some silly hats for mom and dad, Sean will be taking requests and demonstrating his twisting talents throughout the day. And he’s not just creating take-home balloons– Sean will be building some awesome balloon sculptures, so the Open House entrance will be hard to miss!
Worried the kids won’t stay entertained by food, balloons and artwork? Then stop into the theatre and movement studio in the afternoon to see live demonstrations by the Shito Ryu Academy and Sound Systema martial arts groups, or watch the high-flying open class of the Cabiri aerial arts troupe. Being new to Seattle, I’ve been searching for a cool class to take so I’m looking forward to seeing these groups show off their skills first-hand. And I will definitely grab a seat for the evening performances from 6-9pm– there will be film screenings, poetry readings, theatre pieces, and live music!
What are you looking forward to at the Open House? Can’t decide? Then come enjoy the whole day!