Nissei week kicks off with LA tofu festival

Los Angeles Tofu Festival, usually known as Tofu Festival or Tofu Fest, is a weekend matsuri held every August in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Tofu Festival's 2006 celebrations will be held on August 12th and 13th along with Nisei Week.

Tofu is the primary ingredient of dishes and the cultural icon of the festival, which focuses on innovative Japanese and American cuisine within an obon-like atmosphere [1]. Due to Tofu Fest's wider cultural and commercial appeal, along larger funds to work with (Tofu Fest charges admission into its area [2]), it has outgrown Nisei Week's Street Arts Fair in booths — Tofu Fest's first fair had over 8,000 visitors [3] and over 26,000 vistors by 2004 [4].