Here’s What’s Happening (in order of appearance):

Coffee & Conversations / Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund Benefit/ An American Soul Brunch / The Longest Table / Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea /  

Coffee & Conversations: Friday, September 12 at Chelsea Green Park (140 w. 20th St. btw. 6th & 7th Aves.)  | The Friends of Chelsea Green continue to bring free programming to the micro-but-mighty West Chelsea park. Looking ahead to Friday, September 12, the Friends’ Coffee & Conversations series returns, with 8:30-9:30am set aside as an opportunity for discussions both serious and silly, conducted with civility.

Fueling the whole affair are those essential social lubricants–coffee and pastries–courtesy of nearby neighborhood cafe The Commons Chelsea (128  Seventh Ave. btw. W. 17th & 18th Sts.). RSVP via email to chelseagreenpark@gmail.com or on Facebook via @chelseagreenpark.

An American Soul Brunch: Saturday, September 13, 1pm at Pier 57’s PLATFORM | The James Beard Foundation-programmed PLATFORM hosts this multi-course brunch led by Anela Malik (Feed the Malik creator & author of American Soul: The Black History of Food in the United States). The event features Benjamin Shorne of the Brooklyn-based Caribbean restaurant Fat Fowl and recipe developer Renae Wilson. Dishes to expect include cornmeal biscuits with seasonal jam, collard green salad with hot sauce vinaigrette and pickled carrots, jerk duck-sweet potato waffle. Room for dessert? You’d better make space, lest you miss out on the ,plantain cobbler with vanilla ice cream (paired with B. Stuyvesant Champagne Grand Reserve Brut). “More than a meal,” say event organizers, “the afternoon will explore how Black Americans have shaped—and continue to shape—the nation’s culinary landscape.” Tickets ($115) are available here or for $155 (includes a copy of American Soul), here. For more info, click here.

The 4th Annual Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund Benefit: Thursday, September 18, 6pm-9pm at Chelsea Market (W. 15th St. & 9th Ave.) | Dense with culinary delights created by over 130 of NYC’s leading premiere chefs, artisans, and mixologists, this annual gathering sees Chelsea Market transformed into a moveable feast that features established and up-and-coming talent committed to creating and sustaining the face of future food and farming. For one night only, the Market shuts down to host the likes of Gage & Tollner, I Sodi, Celestine, Carbone, Rolo’s, Celestine, Grand Army Bar, and more. That’s a fitting tribute to late, much-loved Anne Saxelby–the trailblazing cheesemonger and steadfast advocate for sustainable agriculture who helped reshape the food landscape. Proceeds from the Benefit go toward hands-on farming apprenticeships that help carry Saxelby’s mission forward by training the next generation of food changemakers.

Sure, you could click here and click here to live vicariously via our coverage of past Legacy Fund Benefit events at Chelsea Market, but you’ll stop woefully short of the multitude of tactile pleasures that can only be had via in-person attendance. Tickets can be purchased at ASLF BENEFIT TICKETS, starting at a base price of $175 for general admission or $75 for kids under 12, an industry price of $135 and featuring packages ranging up to $10,000.

The Longest Table: Sun. Oct. 5, 12pm-2pm on the 400 block of West 21st St. (btw. 9th/10th Aves.) | Sharing a meal with old friends–or new ones–is the simple, lasting appeal of this recently established annual tradition that takes the premise of the potluck dinner and widens it out to fill the length of an entire crosstown block. For more information: www.longesttablecommunity.org. If you’d like to volunteer or have questions, email longesttablecommunity.org.

Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea | It takes place every Saturday, 9am to 2pm, West 23rd St. off 9th Ave.  For more info, click here. Down to Earth Markets brings together two kinds of vendors: local farmers and area food and crafts makers using locally sourced ingredients. Their mission is to ensure a future for small scale agriculture and food production in the New York area by creating vibrant marketplaces where community thrives, and shoppers connect directly to the local food system.

—Compiled by Scott Stiffler

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