Atkilt wot, awaze tibs, sambusas, injera, and tej. Not sure what this is? Think: Cabbage and potatoes seasoned with turmeric and ginger, beef strips covered in a spicy red pepper paste -- all eaten with a sourdough like flat-bread.
These are classic Ethiopian dishes and you can find them, and more, at the Taste of Ethiopia Festival this Saturday.
After a three-year break due to the pandemic, the festival is back to celebrate its ninth year of sharing Ethiopian cuisine and culture with the Denver area.
Nebiyu Asfaw is one of the co-founders of the event and the accompanying nonprofit, which focuses on promoting Ethiopian heritage, community services and, of course, the festival.
Asfaw said the festival started off organically. In the Ethiopian calendar, the new year is celebrated in September. Typically, Asfaw said, they ring in the new year at church with food, drinks and music. But in 2012, they decided to move the festivities to the park and open it up to whoever wanted to attend. It was supposed to be a small event, with free food and music.
"But unintentionally it became a mini festival and we were like, wait a minute, people are really enjoying this," Asfaw said. "Maybe we should continue doing this and next year we came up with the festival...We do this for the love of the culture. That's the motivation."
Over 30,000 Ethiopians live in the Denver-metro area, making them the second-largest diaspora behind Mexican immigrants. Ethiopians first began arriving in Colorado in the early 1930s but the largest wave of migration occurred in the 1970s and 1980s during the Ethiopian Civil War. Diversity visas spurred another wave in the 1990s, and the recent turmoil in Tigray sparked the most recent wave of migration.
Asfaw immigrated here as a teenager and noted that adjusting to America was hard, but for the most part, Colorado and Denver have been welcoming.
"We're mountain people. Ethiopia is a mountainous country, so this feels like home. It is home," Asfaw said. "We've made significant contributions in Colorado for half a century ... The people of Denver have shown us so much love."
The festival on Saturday will be all about returning that love to partygoers. It will feature a fashion show and performances from African and Caribbean artists including Lion Souljahs Dynasty Band and solo artist Ayalew Mesfin.
There will also be an award ceremony. Asfaw said every year the organization hands out a model citizen award to someone who has been a vital part of the community. One of the awards will be given to Dr. Amen Sergew, a pulmonologist and assistant professor of medicine-pulmonary sciences and critical care at the University of Colorado's School of Medicine, who Asfaw said was essential to community members during the pandemic.
Over 75 vendors will be at the park selling artwork, clothing and tons of food. Asfaw said there's a dish for every craving and dietary restriction, including vegetarian and vegan options. Asfaw is vegan and his favorite dish is atkilt wot, or the steamed cabbage and potatoes.
Many Ethiopians are vegetarians and vegans, sometimes due to religious reasons, Asfaw said. But there will be dishes for carnivores, like awaze tibs, which is diced and slow-cooked beef.
One of those vendors will be Megenagna Ethiopian Restaurant and Market. Walking into the eatery and grocer in Aurora is like walking into a spice cabinet. There are wafts of ginger, fresh dough, curry and berbere, an Ethiopian spice blend of chili peppers, coriander, garlic and fenugreek, just to name a few.
Zebiba Ahmed said her family opened up the market more than 13 years ago. Her parents were small business owners in Ethiopia and decided to do the same when they came to the U.S.
Megenagna started serving one dish, called kitfo, a popular meal of ground beef mixed with mitmita, a chili powder spice blend, and niter kibbeh, herb-infused butter. Soon, Ahmed said people started coming more and more for the kitfo. The market got a butcher and the restaurant side was born.
Ahmed said initially there weren't many Ethiopian markets when Megenagna first opened but now there are many. And the customer base for Megenagna and Ethiopian cuisine continues to grow.
"[While] people know us, a lot of people don't know us," Ahmed said, referring to Ethiopian culture. "I worked for Starbucks almost 15 years and most of these people don't know us until I bring something and they ask, 'what are you eating?' They try it and next time I see them here. I'm hoping for more people to know us and discover [our food]."
That sharing aspect is a big part of Ethiopian culture, Asfaw said. It's also the whole idea behind the festival: An opportunity for people to share bread, or injera, meat, coffee and space with one another. It's an opportunity to grow the melting pot.
"The pillar of Ethiopian culture is sharing. That's the theme everywhere," Asfaw said. "That's the reason when we eat, we eat together on a big platter... One thing we brought here is that we believe we are our brother's keeper. We just want to share with everyone. ... Our heritage is beautiful and we want to preserve that...It's a beautiful heritage to maintain, in our opinion."
The festival will be Saturday, Aug. 5th from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Parkfield Lake Park, 15555 E. 53rd Ave. in the Green Valley Ranch neighborhood. Asfaw said to come hungry and ready to share.
Ryan Warner contributed to this story.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Asfaw is one of the co-founders of the Taste of Ethiopia event.
