PORTLAND — Mayo Street Arts presents a celebration of food and culture at Dinner, Culture & Connections: Southern India at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 12.
Mayo Street Arts is hosting an evening that celebrates the vibrant culture and flavors of Kerala State in Southern India. The evening will unfold over a dinner inspired by traditional recipes with time to mingle with fellow attendees and dive into the rich tapestry of Indian customs and stories.
Bombay Mahal will provide the meal featuring dishes from southern cuisine, a departure from the menu that can typically be found at Maine’s oldest Indian restaurant. Rupee Beer Company will guide guests through a pairing of their four brews, which have been designed to harmonize with the bold flavors of Indian cuisine. The evening’s flavors will be punctuated with a roast of single-source beans from Southern India from Coffee By Design.
Artists will share work around the space throughout the meal, shifting focus from the stage back to conversation and around family-style tables. The Indian puppet company Tholpavakoothu’s unique form of shadow puppetry will be demonstrated by a 12th generation shadow puppeteer. Boston-based dancer Sapna Govindan will share two dances in the Mohiniyattam folk tradition.
Both Govindan and Tholpavakoothu have previously performed full stage productions for audiences at Mayo Street Arts. Audience members who feel particularly inspired will be invited to join the artists for hands-on exploration of the forms, bringing a puppet to life or conveying emotions through their eyes with Mohiniyattam’s beloved hand gestures and facial expressions.
The evening is the first event in a series that was conceived of by MSA’s Executive Director Ian Bannon and MSA Board Member Teyonda Hall. The pair participated in a six-month Intrapreneurship for Nonprofits cohort at the Roux Institute last fall alongside nine other Maine-based nonprofit organizations. In December, MSA’s pitch was selected as the winner of a friendly Shark Tank-style presentation at the culmination of the program.
Hall gets excited when she describes the event: “You live in a vibrant city. You hear different languages on the sidewalk and smell food from all over the world. You see cultures all around you and you just know there are incredible stories to be heard … but you don’t have a way to get connected to the people who bring this richness to your community. This series is your invitation to meet the people whose cultures they’re experiencing — a curated evening of food, stories, and performance where you don’t just watch…you build real relationships with the people who carry those traditions.”
Mayo Street Arts is a welcoming community arts center in the heart of Portland’s Kennedy Park neighborhood. The organization’s building serves as a performance venue, gallery, and gathering space, and offers affordable studios and rehearsal space for artists. Mayo Street Arts’ programming embraces variety, with a particular focus on puppetry and folk music and dance.
MSA has a history of food-related cultural events. In 2023, the organization presented a “Taste Tour of the Caribbean” as part of a two-weekend celebration of Taíno indigenous culture produced in partnership with local artist Sayalí Robles and Casa Areyto, an organization in New Hampshire dedicated to revitalizing the Taino language.
More recently, MSA has produced A Taste of Nations, a food festival returning for its third year on May 9-10. The two-day event features $5 bites from 10-plus vendors, allowing attendees to sample a wide variety of the diverse global cuisines that Southern Maine has to offer.
These events have developed out of the organization’s long standing work with members of Portland’s various immigrant communities. Known for an International Open Mic series and eclectic performance series, MSA is a venue where local traditional artists have come to feel a sense of ownership.
Tickets to attend Dinner, Culture & Connections: Southern India are available for $75 in advance or $80 at the door. Visit www.mayostreetarts.org for ticket links and more information.
Dinner, Culture & Connections: Southern India is funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the six New England state arts agencies.
