For years, The Center‘s annual Garden Party has been the kick-off event to NYC Pride Week. What started 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 from more than 40 curated restaurants, this year’s Garden Party 31 “A Taste of Pride” will be held at Hudson River Park’s Pier 84 on Monday, June 23, 2014, from 6-10 pm. Apart from gastronomic pleasures and a spectacular sunset, Garden Party’s 1,500 guests will also enjoy an open bar sponsored by Smirnoff and Captain Morgan, as well as a Foodies Silent Auction.
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Guests from previous celebrations will attest to Garden Party’s culinary bounty, which reads like a compendium of mouthwatering Americana: frozen banana pops, red velvet cupcakes, crab cake sliders, chocolate fluffernutter sandwiches, calamari salad, heirloom tomato gazpacho, pecan butterscotch bars, chocolate espresso cake with chunky peanut butter, chilled watermelon soup with shrimp ceviche, caramel crème sandwich cookies, sushi Parma, salted caramel poppers, and seafood salad with Meyer lemon vinaigrette. And that’s just the first course.
One luscious highlight from last year’s Garden Party 30 came from Danish chef Mads Refslund of New York’s Acme, who offered a vegetable crudité with truffle aioli, rye crumble, and puffed quinoa that was the essence of a halcyon summer. Garden Party 31 guests will be happy to know that Refslund returns for this year’s iteration.
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Always a showcase for summer fashion, guests at Garden Party are invariably as festive as the food they devour. A surfeit of seersucker is complemented by bow ties and suspenders, waistcoats and hats, and splashes of gingham, tulle, and dune grasses. Suggested attire is “Summer Chic,” which, for New Yorkers, means everything from tutus to leather.
Throughout its 31-year 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.
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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 Center Families, as well as the largest LGBT job 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 31.
What: Garden Party and presenting sponsor Prudential bring “A Taste of Pride,” with 40 restaurants and culinary destinations offering samples from their menus.
When: Monday, June 23, 2014, 6-10 pm
Where: Hudson River Park‘s Pier 84, West Side Highway at 44th Street, New York, New York
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