Behold, The First Annual Taste Of East Village Food Festival

This Saturday, September 17, show your love for the historic East Village (including beautiful Alphabet City) by taking part in the first-ever Taste of East Village, an annual outdoor food festival and neighborhood culinary tour that will help your favorite local restaurants keep the lights on.

Taste of East Village will run from 12-5pm rain or shine, on East 7th Street between Cooper Square and 2nd Avenue.

Taste of East Village

In addition to live music and entertainment from local performers, the festival will highlight incredible food and cool cocktails from new and old East Village restaurants.

Taste of East Village

Enjoy bites and sips from Luke’s Lobster, Veselka, Jimmy’s No. 43, Butter Lane Cupcakes, Insomnia Cookies, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, Porchetta, and many other East VIllage staples, all while supporting a great cause.

Taste of East Village

Proceeds from your ticket purchases will benefit the Cooper Square Committee, the local community organization that was instrumental in the relocation of displaced tenants who lost their homes during the deadly East Village gas explosion of 2015, which took out three historic tenement buildings. In the wake of the explosion, hundreds of apartments were evacuated, and a number of small businesses lost their storefronts.

In an effort to restore this vital New York community, Taste of East Village was organized by three community leaders: Cooper Square Committee executive director Steve Herrick, Jimmy’s No. 43 pub owner Jimmy Carbone, and Luke’s Lobster co-owner Ben Conniff. Ticket sales will be used for three CSC initiatives:  the tenant and small business organizing program, which helps prevent tenant displacement caused by speculators; the development of two buildings, which will house 40 homeless LGBT youth; and the senior program, which helps elderly residents age in place with a strong support network.

Tickets are $25 on Eventbrite, and $30 on the day of the festival. If you can’t make it this year but would still like to support the community, you’re welcome to buy a ticket and donate it to a Cooper Square client.

Taste of East Village