Editorial

Naïve but not discouraged: Show what our town has to offer

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Last week, I was invited to an event in Boise that highlights the downtown restaurants.

Now, as much as I like Boise and the downtown area, I don't always want to drive up to Boise just to eat at a restaurant.

It got me thinking: How great would it be if there was a similar event in Mountain Home?

I would like to see an event in town that highlights the different restaurants we have, and I have a few ideas.

One idea I had was a progressive dinner, where the night begins at one restaurant for appetizers and drinks, goes to another restaurant for entrees and ends at a different restaurant for dessert.

You could have the entire night be a theme, like Mexican cuisine or Thai, or it could be a mod-podge of flavors, showing how different types of food works well together.

This progressive dinner doesn't have to be just a one-time thing, either.

It could be a biannual celebration of what Mountain Home offers, never pairing up the same restaurants.

It could also be a charity dinner, where each restaurants picks a charity to give part of the night's proceeds to.

Another idea I had was for an annual festival. The benefit of a festival is more than just the cuisine would be highlighted.

Yes, the food would be a significant part of it, but food only represents part of a culture. This opens up the opportunity for "Idaho's international community" to experience different parts of the world.

To highlight Spanish culture, there could be a Day of the Dead booth set up, featuring not only traditional Day of the Dead treats but also examples of some of the shrines created to commemorate the lives of lost loved ones.

To highlight Thailand you could have a booth dedicated to cultural traditions, which would include food as well as traditional dress and customs.

For Basque, the Oinkari Dantza Taldea could perform or people could compete in Txinga, the traditional weight lifting competition.

Members of the Republic of Singapore Air Force that are stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base could be represented, showcasing their favorite things about Singapore including anything from art to festivals back home.

The possibilities truly are endless!

Not only would this provide an opportunity for different restaurants to be highlighted, it could become a showcase of what Mountain Home truly has to offer.

I feel that Mountain Home gets passed over because people think that there's nothing of interest here.

We have an opportunity to change that.

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