There’s an exciting event series I’ve been simmering up in collaboration with local Brooklyn businesses based primarily in the neighborhood of Park Slope — known nationwide for going all out with its Halloween + Fall Harvest decor and festivities each year —including one of the longest running annual, all-ages Halloween parades in New York City. Starting this year all of that festive fun (for the Grown Ups at least ;) won’t be ending on October 31st!…
Without further ado, I present to you (🥁…..)
A Celebratory “Season of Remembrance”: Spirited Storytelling + Flavorful Food, Drink, History & Cultural Connections
Join me, Tonya Hopkins, aka The Food Griot and lots of other live souls for: spirited storytelling along with samplings of flavor-filled foods, delicious drinks and historical context complete with contemporary connections to myriad cultures while strolling throughout the Slope (aka Park Slope Brooklyn NYC) …. and beyond…
This all new two-week+ long Autumnal series will be taking place during a time that some might call “Spooky Season” — the time frame from around Halloween (i.e., 10/26) until after Veterans Day (formerly known as Remembrance Day) that falls on 11/11 each year. Turns out there are quite a few historical, cultural, national (and yes, spiritual ;) “Days of Remembrance” that take place around the globe during this same time of year (…just prior to the subsequent season of gratitude and giving that goes from the end of November through December and into the New Year) :
“Samhain” in old Irish or Gaelic (Oct 31st - Nov 1st)
Day of the Dead/ Dia De Los Muertos in Mexico and other areas throughout Latin America (Nov 1st- 2nd)…
Fèt Gede/“Festival of the Dead” in Haiti (Nov 1st- 2nd)
“La Festa dei Morti” in Italian (Nov 1st- 2nd)
All Souls and All Saints Day in an wide range of Catholic-influenced cultures world-wide (Nov 1st- 2nd)
Atatürk Day/ Remembrance Day for theTurks (Nov 10th)
Remembrance Day throughout the British Commonwealth (Nov 11th)
Veterans Day - U.S. Federal Holiday (Nov 11th) previously known as Remembrance Day…
Bhoot Choturdoshi or Narak Chaturdashi /“The Night of the Ghosts” in India and Bangladesh (Nov 12th)
A plethora of multi-cultural Days of Remembrance will also be acknowledged …
The community-centered neighborhood of Park Slope, Bklyn NYC is the perfect setting and starting point for an unprecedented and pioneering program like this that’s intended to foster connections in many forms. A vibrant neighborhood known for it’s abundance of restaurants and watering holes representing each of the above-mentioned cultures, nationalities, ethnicities and then some stretched along two major, parallel streets: 7th and 5th Aves. The latter especially is a multi-block oasis of “Mom & Pop” style small businesses (with loyal, local and destination-driven clienteles) peppered throughout a long stretch running from near downtown Brooklyn and the Barclays Center far beyond the South Slope towards Sunset Park…
We’ll visit many of these special places for tastings including: bits and bites of fab foods, delish sips of wines & spirits (+ creatively crafted cocktails and mocktails too) while experiencing immersive storytelling — and depending on the date and locale — you can also look forward to seeing: art displays, short film screenings, readings of: poetry, short plays , excerpts from relevantly themed books and ghost stories! Plus other spirit-lifting, body & soul nurturing activities for reflective rejoicing to help foster the art of remembrance of a range of impactful and inspirational lives lived — in both recent and far distant pasts.
THERE ARE STILL WAYS TO COLLABORATE WITH TFG LLC (me!) on this:
Event Location: be one of several select sites for this fantastical fun…
Sponsor: via financial value exchange, in-kind/product provisions for featuring & sampling — or a combination thereof
Administrative: tech, promo and/or logistics support…
Also open to ideas! …
CONNECT: THopkins@TheFoodGriot.com
