Hey, On The Towners, I'm Frank Licari.

From the exotic spices and foods of India to an oasis of serenity, where ancient Japanese paper arts are taking on new forms, and a lesson in Greek tradition from this Greek community's next generation.

This week, we're going around the world right here in the Palm Beaches, and you won't even need a passport.

[spokesperson] This program is brought to you by "Discover the Palm Beaches."

Visit ThePalmBeaches.tv for more information.

[frank] The history of Greek culture dates back to the days of Aristotle and Plato.

But Greek culture is alive and well in West Palm Beach.

Thanks in part to a school helping keep those traditions alive.

We're kicking off this international tour of the Palm Beaches right here at St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church, where school's in session, and it's all Greek to me.

What am I doing?

How many different dances are there in the Greek culture?

Do we have a number?

Yeah, it's a lot.

So different regions of Greece, there's different dancing.

And the history and the culture of that region is depicted in the dancing.

And you can see dances from certain islands in the Aegean or the , and very different than the dances that are done from the island of Crete, or from Macedonia, or Thrace, or even the mainland Greece, completely different.

The costumes, the music, the instruments that are used, the sound, it's all very different.

Amazing.

He's got it!

I don't know if I have anything.

One, two, three.

One, two, one, bend your knees, flatfooted.

Okay.

Bravo, Frank.

Not too bad.

Woo.

Not too bad, not too bad.

What's the history, how'd you two meet?

'Cause I know this goes back, right?

Well, we met in Greek school here at St. Catherine.

There are Greek school classes that range from preschool through high school.

So we met when we were in elementary school here at St. Catherine's.

What?

Yes.

Elementary school?

We've known each other, yeah, since elementary school.

We were taking Greek language classes right here in this room.

Wow.

Yeah, and we took Greek false dancing together here.

That takes high school sweetheart to another level, doesn't it?

Woo.

You're a natural, Frank.

Wow.

Woo.

We try to create the programs like the Greek folk dancing.

The kids love being a part of that.

I love that.

And they are very proud of this.

They're in.

It's pretty amazing, They love it.

Yeah.

[lee] To know where their history, where they came from, and be proud to present it.

And the Greek festival is where we open up our doors as a church and invite the entire community to come and taste the food.

And then the Greek folk dancing is the entertainment.

This is tiring.

When does it stop, when does it stop?

Japanese workers settled the Yamato colony in the Boca/Delray area over 100 years ago.

As growing pineapples became all the rage, some of those lands became the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens we know today.

We're learning about an exhibit featuring nine Japanese artists taking ancient traditions in new directions.

[carla] Right now, we are in Washi Transformed, and it features nine contemporary artists who all use washi, which is Japanesestyle handmade papers.

What's the difference between the handmade paper and a regular piece of Yes.

The difference is that washi paper is all natural, comes from three different plants.

Gotcha.

They harvest it and then they'll steam it, and it takes hours.

And then once it's done, they will peel off the outer bark and scrape the fibers that they want to create the paper.

Wow, that's involved.

God, I wish I had dedication.

Yeah.

For anything.

How far back do we go in the tradition of this?

Thousands of years.

It came from China to Korea.

And then was brought to Japan.

And it's still being made in the same way.

It's surprisingly strong.

Yes.

That's incredible.

It's just as much as your imagination will allow.

Right?

Absolutely.

There's no limits to any You think paper is a simple, flat thing, but no.

[frank] Right, yeah.

Now this piece has 20 separate panels by Yoshida Ayomi.

And you'll see she has dyed indigo paper, and then the black streaks are printed.

And down below she has some small holes, natural openings, to create the splashback effect of the rain.

Yeah.

And as you walk around, some of these panels will move just a bit.

And that really gives this dynamic feeling.

[frank] You must get people from all over the world that come.

We do, and that's one of the things I really like about it here.

We have an opportunity to introduce a lot of people to Japanese culture.

This place is one of the most peaceful, serene places I've ever walked into.

And you get to work here all day?

Yes, it is really lovely.

We're a Japanese garden.

Right.

And so the idea is to just come out and be relaxed, be surrounded by nature, and just enjoy it.

After taking in the Morikami zen vibe, I'm ready to kick things up a notch by kicking up my heels with a couple that have waltzed and chacha'd in ballrooms around the globe.

Can I learn some, you think I, I mean, do I have You look like you can.

I think you can do it.

I look like I can do it?

Yeah.

I like him.

You should keep him, he's good, smart thing to say.

The first thing to remember is that you're always gonna start with your left foot because the ladies are always right.

Oh.

How does a Moldova in Rochester meet?

By accident .

Oh.

I was teaching dance, and then he was invited.

[frank] To come and work for the studio?

Instructor.

And you're there.

But you both had the dance in common, yeah.

I mean, we started practicing, decided to try dancing competitively.

Is there a different style of dance when you're angry at your spouse?

Is there like, is it stiffer?

Do you think you can keep doing this if I turn myself?

Heck no.

Let's try.

Of course not, if you turn yourself?

Yeah, four, five, six, one, two, three.

Oh, I see what you just did.

Six, that's it.

Okay, I see what you did.

Very good job.

Not too bad.

Thank you very much.

Do I?

[andrea] We were working on cruise ships after we left Buffalo, traveling around.

Yeah.

And then in between contracts, we were offered a temporary position here.

We figured, okay, it's time for us to do something.

And here we are.

Yeah, it was always the end game to kind of open the studio.

We have some gentlemen who come, they're single, ladies that are single.

We have some couples that learn together.

And we have a wide range of ages too.

So our youngest is 13 and our oldest is 94.

Whoa.

Big That is a range, that's cool.

Is there a dance that's like the entrylevel dance?

[andrea] Foxtrot as one of the first ones.

Okay.

And it's pretty close to walking, so it's Well.

Very easy to learn.

I got that down.

Would you like to try salsa?

Well, since I was so great at that.

Look at those hips.

One, two, three.

Well, sure.

One, two.

Ho ho, yeah.

Good, nice.

A little faster.

Oh no, let's not do that.

One, two, three.

[frank] You still compete, or do you just We do.

You do?

[andrea] We just want to improve and do our best.

And plus it's fun.

[frank] When married couple in love gets to dance all day, it's fantastic.

Yeah.

If you thought the spice on the dance floor was hot, you ain't seen nothing yet.

We're heading to the kitchen of Ela Curry to really spice things up.

I'm learning how to make Indian Street food and how to eat with my hands.

They call you the flavorbuilder.

I wanna know how you get that title.

Racking up the flavors, building that flavor through from start of, like how you're cutting onions to how the final product's gonna taste.

Let's be honest, in every small town in England there is an Indian restaurant.

Yeah.

[andy] And a lot of great cooking going on.

[frank] I like it, you know?

Ela Curry Kitchen is all about the regional cuisines of India.

India is not about butter chicken and naan, India is about a lot more.

So, what we are focusing on, the forgotten side here.

[frank] I like that, yeah.

It's a wonderful thing to see guests from all around the world.

'Cause there's a lot of obviously different cultures here.

Sure.

And they often close their eyes just while they taste the food.

And it takes them to a place they've either been before that they're remembering, or it's reminding them that they wanna go to a place where they can taste these flavors.

Yeah.

But fortunately, they have it now on their own doorstep.

These are Semolina puris.

Okay.

And we are filling it with chickpea, beet, tamarind salad, with a little bit of cilantro, scallion, and red onions.

Then I'm gonna top it off with potato sev.

And then you guys have a green juice, we call it, it's a cilantro, mint, green apples, carrots.

Mm.

Yeah.

Spinach, kale, and ginger.

So I'm just gonna pour this on top.

Pour the juice.

Pop these in, right?

A whole thing at a time.

It's like a food shot.

A lot of Indian street history is in this one bite.

Cheers.

All right, cheers.

Cheers.

Chef.

Thank you, yeah?

Always takes me back.

You can't just eat one.

You gotta continue eating.

That is phenomenal.

What if I told you there's a spot in Lake Worth where you can get a taste of Finland, super strong coffee, and the most delicate sweetbreads ever.

But more importantly, you can get an update on the latest wifecarrying competition?

I had no idea that there was such a Finnish culture here in the area.

Most of Finns who are in Florida, they are staying right here in Palm Beach County.

You can get every business basically in Finnish, if you want to.

That's incredible to me.

I'm a president for the festival.

That is the Finnish festival that happens once a year.

We need to talk about this.

I need to ask you a question, okay?

I don't know much about the Finnish culture, but there's a contest where you carry your wife?

Yes.

What, explain this to me.

[tiina] So, it's a competition called wife carrying, we call it.

They went right for it.

They didn't try to get creative with the name.

They're like, wife carrying.

So, in Finnish, it's .

Okay.

So, it's been a competition.

They have the world championship in Finland.

We do little weird things sometimes.

That is, I mean, that's on the border.

I like that.

And the funny part, the wife is upside down.

[tiina] So, there is an obstacle course that you have to run and go over the obstacles.

And there is a water.

What!

The pools.

Water!

The water.

What happens if I drop my wife?

They have a helmet usually.

Oh, well that's okay then, I guess, all right, yeah.

This is so great.

It's fun.

And you've done this how many years here?

[tiina] The wife carrying has been part of the festival last five years, so.

This is incredible.

To be honest, most of the competitors that we have here are Americans.

Well of course, they're like, "What a great excuse "to carry my wife around."

This is incredible.

We're at this bakery here.

Yeah.

[frank] Is there something I need to try that would be signature Finnish?

We have really famous about the donuts.

And this is called .

That's the really oldfashioned Finnish coffee cake.

Okay.

So, Finns drink a lot of coffee.

Yes.

We use a lot of cardamom in our pulla, it's a little weird for a lot of people.

Well, I hate to tell you, but a lot of the stuff I've heard today is a little weird.

Little weird.

Yeah, a little weird.

That's okay though, I like weird.

This is good.

No matter where you go, art is an international language that conveys culture and documents people, and their lives.

We're headed to the Arts Warehouse in Delray's Pineapple Grove District for an exhibition featuring artists from around the globe.

We have 15 studios right here in the building.

And of those 15 artists that are our resident artists, I think four or five are maybe originally from another country, and have immigrated here.

Which is amazing because everybody's culture and your background influences the work that you're creating.

And it also is just a benefit, I think, for people to enter this space and to be able to learn something new.

I consider us kind of a hub for that kind of education.

I didn't start painting until recently.

Oh really?

In 2010.

When I moved to the United States, my husband's grandmother, she's a renowned artist in Venezuela.

Oh.

She decided she needed to pass this on to somebody, and she started teaching me how to paint.

And I told her, this is not for me, I'm sorry.

But she decided to keep pushing and she saw something in me, subjective.

Even the same thing has a different feeling because we were all sort of coming at it from different angles and different experiences.

Exactly, I think that's the most interesting part, how people interpret my work.

[frank] It's not just a museum here, it's an incubator.

We've seen tons of artists come through here.

We've shown probably over 300, 400 different artists in this gallery alone.

We have workshops and other ways that people can get involved, whether as an artist or an appreciator.

This is the first time I have this kind of large space, and all same series of work.

And it's incredible.

'Cause you're from Turkey.

Yes, I've been artist for a long time.

Here, I connect with myself.

[frank] And when you became introspective, what did you find out about yourself that you wanted to express?

Ah, that's a good question.

I'm telling ya, complicated and good, that's what I do.

Since this paintings, my observation change, my judgment change.

I became myself, I didn't change, I became more myself.

Jewish culture and traditions have played out in film for years.

And the Mandel JCC has been hosting the Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival for years as well.

Let's go to the movies.

No matter how many times, the smell of popcorn to me, it may be one of the greatest smells ever.

A vibrant Jewish community has a few things.

JCC, lucky for us, is one of 'em.

This is our 33rd year.

We're the original Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival.

And we really pride ourself on that.

We've been around a long time.

We have a great screening committee that really takes pride in curating amazing film.

We'll have about 40 films this year.

It ranges from 35 to 50.

We get selections from all over the world, literally.

All with a Jewish lens.

Yeah.

They're not all subtitled documentaries about the Holocaust.

That's one of the misnomers about Jewish film festivals.

Yeah.

We have some really creative shorts and features, and sometimes animated.

[frank] You're constantly spreading around sort of based on where the community is, right?

You know, it's places you wouldn't have automatically thought the Jewish community would be doing a film festival, but that's where the communities are.

Yeah.

It's everywhere.

And one of the things that we like to do is bring in filmmakers to be part of a live event with the crowd from some of our screenings.

And that you don't get on your couch.

Might sound like an old guy, but the experience of going to the theater, that experience of sharing, that shared emotion, and shared energy with an audience, even not just for comedies where it's like everybody's laughing, but also for that dramatic, you can feel the room.

That feel is so different, and I think that's what films are made for, ya know?

I think it's a shared experience.

And I think that our job at the JCC is to build community.

Yeah.

That's why we do a film festival, it's all about the community.

You don't need to hop across the pond to take in afternoon high tea in the Palm Beaches.

In order for me to get into a fancy jacket and an ascot, I must be at a very special place.

The Ben in West Palm Beach is blending oldworld traditions with new world hospitality.

It's tea time time at the Ben.

This is a steep timer.

Five minutes is recommended.

That's the best steep time.

Gotcha, I noticed you have three, four, and five, that's for the impatient people?

Some people doesn't like their tea strong.

Some loves it strong.

But five is recommended because you taste all the flavor from it.

Love.

It.

This female pioneer that moved from the Midwest down to South Florida in the late 1800s, and her name was Byrd Dewey.

And she moved down here and had this home that they entitled the Ben Trovato.

Ben travato means a story well told or well invented, so much so you don't care if the story's true or not, you just go with it.

And so, that's where the Ben's name actually came from.

Interesting.

From paying homage to that.

In pulling her story in, the fact that she was an author, her bestselling book was "Bruno," about her dog.

So throughout the hotel, you'll see reflections of Bruno in the hotel.

Why high tea?

Talk to me about that.

So, interesting enough that Byrd Dewey actually did high tea in her home.

She brought these individual travelers together, and wanted them to sit together and share.

Well, this one here is the black, the proper group black.

Okay.

Oh wow.

This is the Earl Grey.

Got a little, what is that?

Is it the lavender in there?

Yes.

Yeah, yeah.

Lavender.

And this is the bourbon vanilla.

Oh wow.

This one smells really good, right?

I don't even know what you'd choose here.

Right?

It's really good.

[frank] How long does a high tea typically take?

We say it's about a twohour experience.

It's really not supposed to be about rushing through.

Yeah.

You're really engaging that conversation that we sometimes don't do.

[alana] I'll make your first pour for you.

Oh, this is exciting.

We talked for five minutes.

She had us down to the tea.

Nice, down to the tea.

Good job, look at that.

[thom] Enjoy.

Oh, is that yummy.

It's good .

Whoa.

That is good.

Wow.

Believe it or not, this building was built by hand, by a group of friends.

In 1967, they got together and formed a social club for locals of German heritage to help preserve their oldworld traditions.

Flash forward over 50 years, and I am ready to don some lederhosen and get my polka on.

You look great.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

Tell me about the GermanAmerican club here, that we're in.

Sure, it started out a group of three guys who would bring their family to this field, play soccer, have a picnic.

So, they're German descent, so they called it the AmericanGerman Club.

And they built this clubhouse in 1975.

Incredible.

Oh, it's amazing.

That's an incredible history.

It's great.

This is, I mean, you've got grounds here.

Oh yeah.

It's like a fairground.

Yeah, it's many acres.

I think it's eight acres, something like that.

Talk to me about the program.

Like what do you guys do?

I mean, you're not just gathering together to, ya know.

To schunkeln and drink a few beers?

Yeah, you're doing more than that, so.

Yeah, well, in addition to being a social club, obviously we're a cultural club as well.

So we have many events that are culturally based.

We have fasching, which is like carnival.

Obviously, the big one would be Oktoberfest.

But we also have a weihnachtsmarkt, or a Christkindlesmarkt.

Okay.

And we have something called Krampusnach.

Currently, we have about 330 members, of all ages.

It's a fully volunteer organization.

So when we have our Oktoberfest, 30,000 people, it's all volunteers making the food, selling the beer, all volunteer.

The goal here is, is you don't have to be German or even of German heritage to join our club.

Sure.

All you have to do is have a true interest in A, helping out as a volunteer, but also interest in German culture, German food, German drink is always good too.

That's usually what brings people together.

Right.

The food and the drink.

Right?

They call it gemutlichkeit in German, gemutlichkeit.

Which is?

It's that warm feeling you get when you're sitting down with somebody, having a beer, that friendship that you built.

It's kind of like fellowshipping, I guess, is what you call it.

Yeah.

How I feel right now with you.

Right.

Wearing what I'm wearing.

I'm gemutlichkeiting.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Yes.

Very much.

From Germany, we jump to the Middle East where a couple who has worked around the world left their corporate jobs to fulfill a dream of owning their own restaurant.

Specializing in authentic Lebanese food.

I learned a lot and I traveled the world, so.

And my wife here, she's guilty 'cause she always telling me, you do such amazing job for other people and you've opened so many restaurants and hotel, why don't you do things for your own?

That's right.

But I like what you did.

See, she kind of needles you to open up your thing and then what do you do?

You turn around and you rope her in.

Uh huh.

Yep.

Right?

Yeah.

Now, you're doing it together.

And I had to leave my corporate job as well.

You did as well!

Yes.

Right.

[susanna] I come from a big family and my grandmother love cooking.

And so, I've always had a passion for that.

Sure.

And then I learn how to cook Lebanese food every time we went to Lebanon.

Every year, I will go to his dad's restaurant, and stay there, and help out.

And so, it became my passion as well.

So, Lebanese, where are you from?

Venezuela.

Venezuelan, Lebanese.

Wow.

Yeah.

[frank] I'm noticing even the baked goods, they're a little different than what I'm used to seeing.

Yeah.

And is that where that comes from?

Yeah, yeah.

It's like a fusion of spices and flavors from I like that.

Yeah.

You took the love, you took the love between you, and put it into your food.

Yeah.

That's what amar means in Spanish, is to love.

So it's amore, amar, same, ah, I like that.

Amar, yeah, yeah.

So, there's definitely a lot of passion, love in what we've done here.

So, it was never meant to be only me doing that.

Even though that was my background.

It was always about we gonna do it together.

Working together.

You know, the Mediterranean diet is very healthy.

It's a lot of plant, grains, lot of olive oil, lot of onion, lot of garlic.

And we import, we use Lebanese olive oil.

So they're pleasantly surprised.

People who are venturing into this because they just feel like they want Mediterranean.

Maybe they know a little bit about Greek or Turkish food.

It's similar, but it's not the same.

So they go in, I'm usually there most of the night.

We approach a table, we guide them, we also send them stuff to taste, and we make sure everyone leaves happy.

Well, ya sold me, guys.

Cricket, anyone?

The sport that originated in Britain is alive and well in the Palm Beaches.

Today, I get to join the Palm Beach Titans, a team that encourages players of all backgrounds and ages to get involved.

And I'm hoping they'll explain to me what a sticky wicket is.

Let's take a look.

How do you think I'm gonna do in this?

Am I gonna be okay?

Am I gonna get hurt?

The possibility exists.

The possibility exists, all right.

Slow the pitching down, is that what you call it?

Do you call it pitching?

No, bowling.

Bowling, oh, it's bowling.

So this is a bowl.

Yes.

And then this is still a hit?

Right.

Yeah.

Okay, but but I'm going underhand like a golf swing almost?

You follow the ball.

Oh.

So wherever the ball is, if it's up here and you want to hit it Oh, I can go up here?

You can go up there.

Oh.

You have to run from here to there to get one run.

To that other stick?

Other stick.

And if somebody touches you before you get there They don't have to touch you, if they hit that wicket, and you're not there, you'll be out.

So to hit the wicket, do I run to it, or I can throw it?

You throw it, you can run to it.

Whatever you wanna do.

Oh, okay, all right, this is getting interesting, guys, I'm in.

All right, this my left?

You know, whenever you put on protection, it always makes you think twice about the sport you're about to play.

Oh man.

This does not look easy, this does not look easy.

Oh, nice.

Wow.

Be nice and gentle.

I'm gonna take a couple practice swings first before I get serious.

Oh.

All right, all right.

Do you got a little spin on that one?

Is that what you had?

Sure, yeah, yeah, it's funny, that's funny, yeah.

You're from Jamaica.

Yeah.

Where are you from?

Barbados.

Barbados, and you?

India.

They play this everywhere.

Yes.

Right, it's a very diverse game.

It is, it is.

So when I move here in 2007, I say, you know what?

I can't be out of this game.

So I reached out to a few people.

They say, hey, there are clubs play this game.

So I reached out to a few people and just started with them.

You'll be surprised, this league right now has, what, 22 teams?

What?

20.

28 now.

28!

Yeah.

That's almost a major league sport.

Let's not get too crazy out here, all right?

I see what's going on.

I'm not happy about it.

Keep it nice and slow.

Aw!

Come on now!

[player] Oh!

Do I run, do I run, what do I do?

Run with the Oh, oh, man!

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Hold on, hold on.

Ugh.

Right?

Oh, I gotta bring the bat with me?

Gotta run with the bat.

Oh, I gotta run with the bat, all right.

Okay, woo!

How 'bout that, huh?

Come on, come on, come on.

Who's recruiting me?

Does anybody want me?

Captain.

Come on.

Today we took a trek around the world without ever leaving the Palm Beaches.

We explored dance, art, culture, food, and made a lot of new friends with really interesting stories along the way.

We hope you'll get out and enjoy everything the Palm Beaches has to offer.

Join us the next time we go on the town in the Palm Beaches with me, Frank Licari.

Hold on.

And nobody's allowed to be laughing out there.

Okay?

[player 2] Just keep an eye on the ball.

You got it, you got it!

[spokesperson] This program was brought to you by Discover the Palm Beaches.

Visit ThePalmBeaches.tv for more information.