Queer Soup Night: Soup from the LGBTQ Soul

April 22, 2018  6-9:30pm
219 NW 10th Ave.
RSVP on Facebook @Queer Soup Night Gainesville: Earth Day
ALL ARE WELCOME

After a resoundingly successful launch, Queer Soup Night (QSN) is back for a second installment of its feel good/do good community supper. The donation-based fundraiser offers party-goers live music, a selection of three soups made by local chefs using locally-sourced ingredients, and the opportunity to come together in solidarity with the Gainesville Queer community.

In celebration of Earth Day, all proceeds from Queer Soup Night will benefit programming at Working Food. This local non-profit, which will also host the event in its beautiful mural-studded courtyard, is committed to a sustainable and equitable food future for all in North Central Florida.

Currently, Working Food hosts the Southern Heritage Seed Collective, coordinates multiple garden-based after school programs, and organizes the annual I Love Local Food Week. Build-out of a certified, commercial kitchen and entrepreneurial support program are ongoing.   

QSN Gainesville is a spin-off of the original Brooklyn-based Queer Soup Night-a monthly gathering created in the wake of the 2016 election by Liz Alpern, chef and co-author of The Gefilte Manifesto, alongside a crew of active volunteers.

“At its heart, QSN is a party for queer folks and allies to gather in community and soak up the nourishment — physical and mental — we all need to keep doing the work we’re doing while facing our harsh political climate,” said Alpern. “It’s a space to feel supported and useful, to make a new friend, and to eat soup made with love by talented queer chefs.”

Not surprisingly, the inspiration for the first Gainesville QSN was cooked up in a kitchen one evening by new friends Finn Plocek and Larissa Sheldon. Sheldon, a recent Brooklyn transplant, was an early co-conspirator of Alpern’s back in 2016. Soon, they had rallied a small band of big-hearted Gainesville queers around the idea, and the first QSN outside of New York was born.

Hosted by The Vine Bakery in January of this year, this initial fundraiser drew well over 100 attendees and raised more than $1,000 for Gainesville Girls Rock Camp. The happy crowd noshed on fancifully-named soup options (Hot Chick, Sage Bush, and Root Chakra) and cozied up to the tunes of local musical act Wax Wings.

Queer Soup Night’s organizers hope to keep the Gainesville chapter active on a regular basis. They welcome enthusiastic volunteers and are specifically looking to highlight LGBTQ-identified chefs (especially Chefs of Color) as Soup Makers at future events. Contact them at qsngainesville@gmail.com. D

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