For more than 30 years, The Center‘s annual Garden Party has been the kick-off event to NYC Pride Week. What began as a fundraiser in 1984 with one catering company has evolved into the largest LGBT food festival in the country and one of the most celebrated tasting events in the culinary world.
Featuring food tastings from dozens of New York City’s premier restaurants, this year’s Garden Party “A Taste of Pride” will be held at Hudson River Park’s Pier 84 on Monday, June 20, 2016, from 6-10 pm.
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Apart from gastronomic pleasures and a spectacular sunset, Garden Party’s 1,500 guests will also enjoy an open bar sponsored by Smirnoff, Barefoot Wine, and Lagunitas—as well as a Foodies Silent Auction.
Guests from previous celebrations will attest to Garden Party’s culinary bounty, which reads like a compendium of mouthwatering Americana: frozen banana pops, watermelon gazpacho, red velvet cupcakes, crab cake sliders, chili chocolate cake, chocolate fluffernutter sandwiches, chilled pea soup with peekytoe crab, calamari salad, heirloom tomato gazpacho, pecan butterscotch bars, chocolate espresso cake with chunky peanut butter, cardamom buns, chilled watermelon soup with shrimp ceviche, paella mixta with calamari, caramel crème sandwich cookies, sushi Parma, salted caramel poppers, and seafood salad with Meyer lemon vinaigrette. And that’s just the first course.
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Always a showcase for summer fashion, guests at Garden Party are invariably as festive as the food they devour. Seersucker is complemented by bow ties and suspenders, waistcoats and hats, with splashes of gingham, tulle, and dune grasses. Suggested attire is “Summer Chic,” which, for New Yorkers, means everything from tutus to leather.
Throughout its history, The Center has built community through arts and culture, wellness and recovery, in its mission to envision a world where LGBT people no longer face discrimination or isolation because of who they love.
Executive Director Glennda Testone ©MRNY
As Executive Director Glennda Testone stated in the wake of the recent Orlando massacre, “No act of hate will dampen our values of love, respect, equality and justice for all. The safe spaces in our community remain vitally important, whether that is a bar, a place of worship or a community center, and we thank those who support these spaces.”
Thanks to partnerships such as this year’s presenting sponsor Prudential, The Center‘s longest-running event is also its largest annual fundraiser. More than 6,000 people visit The Center weekly, with more than 300 groups meeting at the beloved West Village institution.
The Center is home to a rainbow coalition of life-changing and life-saving organizations, from the Youth Pride Chorus to LGBT families, as well as the largest LGBT Career Fair in the Northeast—and the proceeds from Garden Party enable the Center to remain open 365 days a year.
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Additional Details:
Who: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center Board of Directors and Executive Director Glennda Testone invite you to Garden Party 2016
What: Garden Party and presenting sponsor Prudential bring “A Taste of Pride,” with tastings from dozens of New York City’s premier restaurants—and seasonal cocktails at the open bar
When: Monday, June 20, 2016, 6-10 pm
Where: Hudson River Park‘s Pier 84, West Side Highway at 44th Street, New York, New York
