By KARINA MATOS
Malden is an impressive community full of so many clubs, events, and opportunities. Malden Reads is a well known organization that chooses a book for Malden to read, and this year, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” by Rebecca Skloot, was chosen.
Malden reads the book together with the help of other organizations that branch off from Malden Reads. For example, Malden Eats, an event created by David Stein, Paula Spizziri, and Michele Marcinowski. Malden Eats is a series of four events, where people can eat at chosen restaurants to appreciate Malden’s diverse cultures and support local, independently-owned restaurants. This year, the group went to Lantana Cafe, an Italian restaurant, Tornado, a local Asian restaurant, Oya Cuban Cafe, a local Cuban restaurant, and Bossa Nova, a local Brazilian restaurant.
The event at Bossa Nova was a nice chance for people from Malden, who may have never tried Brazilian food, to get a taste and maybe gain knowledge of a new local restaurant that they like. A buffet full of salad, rice, beans, and other foods brought sweet aromas; a man went around carrying meat that he would cut off of a knife; the whole event only cost twenty dollars. Before hand, the Heads of Malden Eats read the announcements and talked about Malden Eats and other events that will happen soon.
Malden Eats is not the only event that allows people from Malden to try new things. Coming up, MATV will host a showcase or open house on May 17, 2014. Food will be abundant, as well as varied activities, some of which include going behind the scenes and seeing how production works. There will also be a festival called “Latio Night,” which is twenty dollars at the senior center; there will be food and performances by some latin performers.
Another event that Malden Eats introduced before the meal at Bossa Nova was a gala called, “Finding the Soul of Cuisine.” The gala will have plenty of food from local restaurants and food trucks inspired by the different cultures and the Malden Reads book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”. One of the creators of Malden Eats, Stein, stated that “[he] wants to have some fun with the idea of passing on the DNA of a dish to the next generation”. “Each course will require to use one ingredient from the previous course.” The gala itself will be held at Malden High School on May 10, 2014, and the servers will be some MHS students. Also, some of the local cooks will be accompanied by some of the winning chefs from the Multicultural Club Cooking Competition. Stein encourages residents to RSVP as soon as possible, since there are only 80 seats. Tickets are $25 per person which includes tax, water, iced tea, or soft drinks. Payment is made at the door, cash only. No credit cards are accepted.To reserve, please call 781-605-1954 and make sure to specify that you are making reservations for the Malden Reads Gala Dinner. Please leave your name, number in your party, and contact information (phone or email.)
Malden is lucky to have so many new and interesting things going on to try and experience. There are plenty of events, clubs, and festivals to inspire people and quench their curiosity. Malden is an involved community that has many wonderful and diverse events.
