Himalayan Fair

Nice relaxing weekend eat out and shopping

It took a while to find parking. Lots of booths packed together at the park. They all seemed to be selling similar merchandise and on the pricey side. We enjoyed the live performances which made you want to dance. Think Bollywood :)

The weirdest thing when I got to the Fair is that a lady asked me to carry some boxes for her. Typical Berkeley idealists! haha. Nonetheless I was pleased to help her.
I had a lazy fun time at the Himalayan Fair. It wasn’t the crazy best Fair I’ve been to but the pleasing atmosphere and food made up for it. It was my first time having momos which are dumplings filled with meat or vegetables (kinda like potstickers). There was one tent selling momos yet there was absolutely no line and the workers were chanting for customers. Good thing I held out because there was another tent, the Northern California Himalayan Association, selling momos with a huge line. For $ 5 I got five freshly made on-​the-​spot momos with hot sauce and a side salad. What a deal! Super delicious.
The other food options were limited to some other Indian cuisine, BBQ, and strangely enough a Jamba Juice tent. I wish there was more Himalayan food but just one plate of the momos was filling enough.
The rest of the fair consisted of Himalayan crafts and goods that I imagine you’d find at the touristy spots in Tibet and surrounding areas. There were some artists and organizations but nothing of real interest. Kinda disappointing in that aspect.
There was a stage filled with performers. I think they did a good job of always having some kind of live. There were dancers from Danceversity doing a bunch of cultural dances from mostly the Middle Eastern regions. Later on there was a good musical group playing upbeat Indian music. That brought out the crowd. I was surprised at the calibre of the group.
The crowd was a bit odd. It was mostly Himalayan people and white people dressed in Himalayan/​Indian/​Afghani dress. I think I saw only white people dressed in cultural wear. Plus a crazy dancing lady wearing cheetah print boots.
_​_​_​_​
Go for the food, music, and sun — then leave.

Love the venue and the culture! Lots of Indian food, BEAUTIFUL Nepalese jewelry and textiles, and live music and dances. :D

I’m usually too lazy to drive so far, but spring was in the air and it was better than driving in the other direction and getting stuck in the traffic down to Santa Cruz.
Parking turned out to be a huge challenge, but I was lucky to snag a spot a short walk away from Live Oak Park. Definite highlights were the momos, chai, and of course the Odissi dances (classical Indian dance) from the beautiful, talented dancers of Jyoti Kala Mandir.

Absolutely amazing culture and beautiful people. Thanks to all the effort and love put into this event! It was just lovely!

Great way to spend your Sunny weekend. Lay down in grass and eat momo.

The Himalayan Fair is a nice way to spend a lazy Saturday, but in many respects I found the entire affair somewhat lacking.
First of all, despite being called the Himalayan Fair, there is very little that was actually Himalayan about it. From what I saw, most of the performances were Indian and Pakistani, and only one booth in the food court (of about ten in total) was dedicated to Himalayan food (more on that later).
Then there are the booths. I love shopping as much as the next twenty-​something American gal, but all I can say is, if you’ve been to one jewelry/​hemp clothing/​meditation stand, you’ve really been to them all. And besides, since there are a multitude of shops providing everything for your Himalayan/​Tibetan needs (off the top of my head I know of two on College and Solano) you really don’t need a fair to display more.
I think the killer was the food. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m usually very easily satisfied, even though I am a very food-​oriented person (I tend to plan my day around my meals). I mean give me some Naan N’ Curry and I’ll be o.k. But this food was pretty bad, and what was worse, it wasn’t very cheap.
I sampled four dishes (I know, FOUR?): the Himalayan beef pot sticker/​dumpling things, the samosas, a chicken kabob skewer and a combination rice plate with daal and tandoori chicken. All four had me so depressed I wasn’t even about to begin to consider any kind of dessert.
So, if you’re looking for a culturally-​rich day in Berkeley, I would say yeah, go the fair. But if you want to cap it all off with some delicious food, get yourself to Vik’s Chaat House or just stroll down University and find a restaurant there. Your day will be much more fulfilling.

This lively place, incense and bud floating through the air, is the epitome of the hippified culture of Berkeley.
It’s events like these that make me love Berkeley. This 23^rd annual fair, held at its usual spot in Live Oak Park, brings food, clothing, music, jewelry, rugs, furniture, decorative pieces, art, charity services, and literature from Nepalese, Tibetan, and Indian cultures.
After a while all the displays tend to start to look the same and some of the prices are outrageous (for instance, I saw a cheaply-​made hemp necklace being sold for $ 25!). But, there are some steals — I bought a large abalone-​encrusted necklace piece on a beaded rope for $ 5.
But, as my girls will agree, it’s the HOT Tibetan cowboys going around singing their hearts out and beating on their homemade drums, that makes this annual fair worth the visit!