Soy be it: L.A. Tofu Festival discontinued

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

After 12 years of celebrating the finer qualities of the--no, not tasteless, but delicately flavored--soft soy bricks known as tofu, the Little Tokyo Service Center has decided to discontinue the event.

‘We initially put on the festival as a fundraiser and as a way to drive people to Little Tokyo,’ says Noelle Ito, the center’s director of development. ‘We’ve been successful at both. When we started it was just a small event but last year we drew more than 25,000 people over the weekend.’

So why stop now?

‘Because it got really big and difficult,’ Ito says, explaining that the empty lot off San Pedro where the festival was held was sold to condo-building developers. Last year the organizers had to move the event to the street, which inconvenienced neighboring businesses and proved a permitting headache.

‘I think everything has its run,’ says Ito. ‘Now we’re focusing on a sake and food tasting event.’ The theme of that event, which takes place in the spring, changes each year according to venue. When it was held at the Museum of Neon Art a few years back it was called ‘Sake Illuminated.’ Last year it was held at the Peterson Automotive Museum and called ‘La Vida Sake.’

Still, there is a glimmer of hope for tofu lovers. Ito says, ‘There are talks that someone [although she won’t say who] might take an interest in putting on the festival.’ This year, however, there will be no tofu cheesecake at the annual Nisei Week Japanese Festival.

-- Jessica Gelt

Illustration by Reuben Munoz for the Los Angeles Times