Flavors, aromas of world awaken senses

By April Espiritu, Special to the Online Forty-Niner

Tuesday, November 17, 1998

Long Beach residents embarked Saturday on an unusual journey to a tasty and aromatic world displayed at the Soroptimist House.

The World of Flavors, sponsored by the Festival of the Five Senses and the Cal State Long Beach Odyssey project, in collaboration with the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences Student Organizations, sponsored this aromatic and flavorful feast.

The World of Flavors was the fifth event since September in the Odyssey's "Self" series.

"I had to find a common denominator to bring all forms of art together to find a common," Claudia Durgnat, executive producer of the festival said. "The five senses was the best way."

Durgnat said she believes in "... using the senses as the basic form of inspiration for art and social expression." The goal of the festival was to enjoy the surroundings by smelling and tasting the world of flavors.

Upon entering the festival, the notes of the trumpets sounded and the aroma of the scented candles lingered in the air. The harmonious sounds of jazz were provided by Andrew Carney on the trumpet and flugelhorn and Tony Campodonico on the keyboard.

As for the creative candles, Terri Gibson, a student of the education department at CSULB, encouraged children to use food scented wax and crushed candy canes to make their own pieces of work.

Also by the entrance was the "tasty" work of Mark Blackwell. He used various colored jelly beans to form three-dimensional art. One piece, titled "Jellybean Elvis," paid homage to Elvis Presley.

Volunteer Kelly Thom conducted a workshop for the "exploration of design." Here children could make a necklace out of pasta and leaves or paste gelatin powder and jelly beans onto construction paper.

Prizes were awarded to children who identified the correct scents inside of smelling bins or who guessed the correct food from the clues that Thom gave them.

At another table, children dipped their hands into pudding and expressed themselves on paper. They could also mold scented play dough.

Saowapa "Sophie" Albright from the School of Culinary Arts at Wat Thai of North Hollywood demonstrated "The Art of Carving." The delicate craft of carving vegetables and fruits began in the royal palaces of Thailand. The soft curves of the flowers and ornate design of the birds and fishes were very impressive.

Restaurants throughout the community stimulated the sense of taste with samples. Participants included: Frenchy's Bistro, Buon Gusto and Olive Garden.

Attendees entered the Soroptimist House on a pathway of ginger, cinnamon, paprika, sesame seeds, cloves, lemon peel and basil known as the "curry carpet."

The carpet was constructed by art students Kirby Beneville, Haley Doty, Ivan M. Farmer, Dawn Gill, Cindy Huber, Lih-Chy I Hsineh (Sherry), Roxana Leiva and Janel Yamashita.

The sense of smell was aroused by essential oils. In "Aromatherapy" presented by The Michael Scholes School of Aromatic Studies. Dena Drotar, massage specialist and Aroma Fitness instructor, passed around mood-provoking oils.

Sandy Fox, an Aromatic consultant and Aroma Fitness instructor, expressed the benefits of their usage.

Instructors explained how oils such as lavender, tea tree and peppermint are used to balance the health and psychological well-being of a person.

Everyday incorporation of the oils, whether diffused in our air space or in our skin and hair care can re-connect us to that healing force, Fox said.

Roastmaster Mike Sheldrake from Polly's Gourmet Coffee in Belmont Shores took his audience through "The Process of Coffee Brewing."

He demonstrated the importance of where the bean is grown, how it is processed, how it is shipped and when it is roasted in order to extract the perfect cup of coffee.

The Odyssey project will continue to explore the self through the other senses in upcoming events.