Behind the Scenes 2017

Christine Adamski spent 8 years of her childhood in Puerto Rico, and her family has always been passionate when it comes to authentic Puerto Rican cooking. Not only do they prepare these dishes for their large family gatherings, but the whole family pitches in to share their love of cooking with our International Food Festival! … Read more

St. Ann Catholic Church is blessed to be a diverse parish with members from many different countries. We have wonderful food booths where our parishioners are proud to share their culture and heritage. Honduras is one of the most dedicated of the food teams, participating every year since the festival started. Leader Gloria Gutierrez and … Read more

Lauretta Maignan-Gibson is happy to be back for her third year at the festival representing Haiti. Though she has lived in the US since she was 2, she feels a strong attachment to her native country. Lauretta, husband Herman and children Emmanuel, Brendon and Christina still practice many of the country’s traditions, and they go … Read more

Since the first International Food Festival, Maria Aleman and her team have been dedicated to representing their homeland, El Salvador. Lucky for us, this year is no exception! Maria is a native of El Salvador and lived there until she was 15 years old. Her husband Freddis was also born there. In fact, the 2 … Read more

Every visit to France should include a stop at the local cafe for some delightful crepes …if that’s not on your travel agenda, then our International Food Festival offers the next best thing! Dawn and Michael Brown and their team of volunteers look forward to serving you a little taste of France right here in … Read more

If you’ve been to any of the past International Food Festivals at St. Ann’s church, you are sure to have noticed the large crowds around the Mexican booth! Each year, Regina Mendez has managed the group of 20 some workers to make sure everything runs smoothly the day of the festival. A natural “organizer”, when … Read more

We can’t forget about the good ol USA! There’s lots of kids (and adults) happy to see the ever popular hotdog on the menu! Every festival, the Knights of Columbus step up to make and serve the “dawgs”, offering both Beef and Carolina Reds along with all the standard condiments. The Knights have sponsored our … Read more

At the early age of 14, Ann Mullins started working in the kitchen of her family’s Italian restaurant, located north of Manhattan, NY. She and her mother made all the pies and specialty desserts. Her entire family loved to cook– she claimed her father could pull any random ingredients out of the fridge and create … Read more

St. Ann Church is happy to have the Nguyen family return to the festival this year. Xe and Ni Nguyen came here from Vietnam 34 years ago, sponsored by the Catholic church in Wytheville, VA. They moved to Smithfield 10 years ago to be near family and joined St. Ann’s parish. Although Americanized in many … Read more

The 2017 International Food Festival is more than happy to welcome a Venezuelan booth this year! Parishioners Ani and Domingo Coffaro will lead the team with their son Fabricio and their daughter Sabrina. Natives of Venezuela, they have been here 4 years and are happy to be a part of the St. Ann community! Ani … Read more

Thanks to Manny and Carmella Eslabon, we will welcome back the Philippine booth this year! As many of you may know, Teri Harrington led the group for many years, even after moving to South Carolina. She still plans to help by making her wonderful egg rolls, but Teri is grateful to the Eslabon family for … Read more

We welcome the Hernandez family, who have graciously offered to add a Cuban booth to this year’s event! Rudy and Carmen have recruited the whole family to help, from 7 year old Ella to 97 year old Grandfather Alfredo! Rudy, Carmen and their children Aidan (9) and Ella (7) moved here 2 years ago from … Read more

There are those people that like to cook, and there are those that LOVE it! Lynne Bigness will tell you that cooking IS her life…you can hear the passion in her voice when she talks about food. Growing up on a farm in Northern New York, Lynne spent lots of time helping her mom in … Read more

Growing up eating Golabki’s and Kapusta, Brian Kochan knows a few things about Polish cuisine! Not only did he enjoy Grandma’s meals, but he learned cooking skills from his stepmother, Claire. A “farm girl”, she observed many of the traditional Polish customs, and holiday meals were especially important events. She was an awesome cook. Brian … Read more

If you like a little German bratwurst with kraut, you’ll be in for a treat at the festival!  Mike and Mary Jo Buzard are excited to lead the Germany booth this year.  The couple met when Mike was stationed in Stuttgart and they have many fond memories of their time spent in Germany. The Buzards have … Read more