LumDimSummary: Cookie Monster Bake-Off 2015

LumDimSum & The Hutong Host their 2nd Annual Cookie Monster Bake-Off!

Cookie Monster’s DREAM-COME-TRUE, the 2nd annual Cookie Monster bake-off’s display of drool-inducing cookies was unparalleled in both talent and creativity.

Having taken place this past Saturday, March 14, the event was co-hosted by LDS (yours truly)+ The Hutong featuring 19 different baking contestants (18 of which were brand new to sign up!). These were the baking finalists who made it through a tough screening process in order for us to present the best of the best cookies we could find.

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LumDimSummary: JUE 觉’s 2015 Creative Market

 Snapshots from JUE’s Creative Market

Yesterday saw one of the most popular JUE 觉 Festival events thus far – their Creative Market featuring over 80 food and creative booths!  This family-friendly event drew in massive crowds to LANNG Art Center (just southeast of Guomao) and was a weekend highlight for many.

Running between The Bookworm’s Literary Festival events and other happenings around town, I was only able to swing by for an hour in the later part of the afternoon to check out the many creative stall, snap a few photos and grab one of the very last Nori Bagels by Migas + Traitor Zhou‘s (something I’ve been keeping my eye out for all week – see pics below).

In addition to all the creative and boutique vendors selling unique gifts and crafts, they also hosted workshops that introduce participants to: Contact Improv, Salsa dancing, Poi, NIa, along with musical performances, square dancing and body-painting. From what I saw, square dancing with the Yellow Weasels was a big hit and of course all that great food – Cuju, Rager Pie, Big Bear Baked Goods, etc. I’m actually relieved most of the food was sold out by the time I arrived as I definitely would have gone to town at each and every stall if I had the stomach space.

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3rd Annual Beijing Craft Beer Festival: June 6 & 7

June 6-7: Beijing Craft Beer Festival at Galaxy SOHO

(Photo from theBeijinger’s Photo Gallery from last year’s beer fest)

Great Leap Brewing gears up for their third annual Beijing Craft Beer Festival this weekend – Friday, June 6 from 5pm-11pm – Saturday, June 7 from 12pm-11pm at Galaxy SOHO.  Though many of us dream of their return to their first festival’s location in the Dashilar Factory Space, we will settle for Galaxy SOHO as they almost moved the festival to the far, far away Wangjing SOHO this year (thank goodness they didn’t!).

“After consultation with SOHO, we decided to hold the event at Galaxy SOHO for a second consecutive year. We hope beer fans in Wangjing will still make the trip. We loved Galaxy SOHO in 2013 and we’re very happy the Festival is returning to this central and convenient location,” Carl Setzer, co-founder and brewmaster of Great Leap Brewing and organizer of the event.

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ICEF Events: BJ FOoDiEs Dinner + Hutong Film Fundraiser

Check Out Two Back-to-Back Events to Support ICEF Rugby!

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting the bright and inspirational kids who play for an inner city foundation in Los Angeles, California called ICEF Rugby as part of a Hutong education program. We spent a few days showing them Beijing highlights as part of a two-week China trip (Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong) for their rugby program in March 2013.

I was so impressed and moved by this group of students that we rallied all our friends in the rugby community and beyond to support China’s very first screening of their award-winning documentary, “Red White Black & Blue” which was filmed on the group’s previous international trip to New Zealand for a U16 tournament. A beautifully shot film, it showed the story of the team’s leaders and a few of the players who rise above their circumstances of growing up in the inner city, and travel abroad together to play rugby in a land where rugby is its national sport.

But now that the second film of the award winning Red, White, Black & Blue series is out (check out vimeo film trailer HERE), ICEF Founder and Rugby Coach Stuart Krohn is heading back to Beijing to support my two back-to-back fundraising events with proceeds being donated to ICEF Rugby.

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