The Momo Nepal team was excited to participate in Nova Multifest again this year. This was our third season at the festival, and every year, Momo Nepal has been a hit.

Whenever a large event like this comes around, our team feels a lot of excitement because we get the opportunity to feed hundreds of people. At the same time, there is always stress involved in managing everything behind the scenes. Personally, as a business owner who is heavily involved in running a small business, I experienced a mix of emotions: happiness from seeing many new faces try and enjoy our food, excitement before the event began, tiredness after each day, stress during the event, and satisfaction with how the festival was managed.

I was very happy with how the festival was organized. From my personal experience, this was one of the most organized festivals Momo Nepal has attended. There were more than 30 food and craft vendors, a large stage with many performers from different backgrounds, and, of course, many volunteers helping everyone throughout the event.

Compared with the previous two years of selling momo at this festival, we faced additional time-management challenges this season. The festival ran from Friday through Sunday. At first, I was confident that I could manage the festival alone for all three days while Amone handled the Wolfville Farmers’ Market and Pema handled the Halifax Brewery Market on Saturday. However, the workload, including driving for hours from Wolfville and carrying supplies back and forth, became too much.

I slept for only three hours on Friday night. I was supposed to pack everything up by 10 p.m., but we were still serving customers until 10:30 p.m. I did not want to turn away the wonderful people who had waited in line for more than 30 minutes, with some waiting for nearly an hour, to try our food. By the time I finished cleaning, it was midnight.

I then went home, took a shower, and slept for a couple of hours before waking up to give Pema the items I had brought from Wolfville for the Halifax Brewery Market. He came to my apartment, picked them up, and went to the market. After that, I had to drive back to Wolfville to pick up chai, momo, and takeout supplies, then return and be ready to serve by 10 a.m. It was a hectic schedule.

Saturday was incredible, with a line in front of our stall unlike that of any other vendor. However, my body was already giving up in the morning. I decided to cancel the Wolfville Farmers’ Market so that Amone could come and help at the festival.

There was no way I could have served more than 500 customers in one day alone. Amone came and supported me when I needed it most. His help gave me time to take a short nap during the day, although I still felt overwhelmed by the workload. When I returned in the afternoon, there was a huge line in front of our stall. The organizers told us that we had surpassed their best-selling vendor of the year and had become the festival’s most popular food stall.

I was happy, but at the same time, overwhelmed. I worked alongside Amone until closing. Even at 11 p.m., we were still serving a few customers. It was an intense experience. I was extremely exhausted and anxious about having to return to Wolfville for more stock and prepare for Sunday. That day, I made the difficult decision not to sell on Sunday. I listened to my body and accepted the necessary trade-off.

Overall, the event was fun, stressful, surprising at times, and undoubtedly memorable for the entire Momo Nepal team. The success of the festival was not the result of one person’s effort. It came from the teamwork, commitment, and support of everyone involved. Amone and Pema handled their responsibilities and stepped in when the workload became overwhelming, allowing us to serve hundreds of customers successfully.

We hope to manage the event even better next time while continuing to support one another as a team.