There’s very little I’ll walk in the rain for, especially without an umbrella.

I’ll do it for my mom because she threatens me with the “I gave you life, I can take it away” bit. I believe her. I’ll do it if for some reason it means it’ll erase my name from Sallie Mae’s records. I wish she’d get amnesia. I’ll also do it if a cute guy winks at me and doesn’t have that Ted Bundy murderer face. That’s a real thing. Above all else, I’ll do it for food. But you already knew that.

Yesterday, I was walking in circles on my way to an event hosted by the Los Angeles Times. The Southern Californian publication invited me and many others to Spring in Downtown Los Angeles to unveil their new month-long food festival. The thought of getting to hear about a new food event in Los Angeles that would last an entire month was enough for me to get my shoes soaked in the rain. Might I add, my cardigan, dress, hair, and foundation were also drenched.

On a brighter note, I did find out that my foundation is in fact waterproof.

After close to 15 minutes walking around aimlessly in the rain, I finally found the restaurant. I have to admit, I have the worst sense of direction and I’m sure I would have died early in a real life version of the Oregon Trail. Once I walked inside, I was greeted by the sweet check-in person who let me know the event was about to start. With that, she asked if I’d like a napkin in an attempt to dry myself off. “I’d like all the napkins, please.” For some reason, she didn’t see the humor in that and I walked away. As I let myself air dry, I moved into the restaurant with the gaggle of attendees.

Scanning the room I saw the refreshments being served. I managed to snap a few photos, but didn’t take any bites because I needed to catch my breath from dodging rain drops. After a few food photos I snapped a shot by the creative cartoonist Napkin Killa who was drawing portraits on napkins. I flirted with the idea of stealing his napkins to dry off, but I restrained myself.

A few more photos and weaving through the crowd, I was in a decent position for the presentation to begin. One-by-one CEO Justin Dearborn, Editor and Publisher Davan Maharaj, and Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold approached the stage and revealed distinct parts of the event known as Food Bowl. Taking place from May 1^st to 31^st, the festival will have events, dinners, and programs all around food and open to the public. Pulling in chefs and food personalities within Los Angeles and across the world, Food Bowl will also hold in-depth conversations and discussions around food hunger, waste, sustainability, trends, and the future of food. On top of that, the 12-acre Grand Park will host a Night Market from May 10^th to 14^th that will give ticket holders access to 50 vendors in hopes of filling their bellies with delicious eats. If you’ve ever attended a Grand Park event, Made in America or even their New Year’s Eve celebration, you’re going to want to wear comfortable shoes, carry a backpack/big purse, and wear stretchy pants. I speak from experience.

At the end of it all, the remaining question was in regards to the name: Food Bowl. What was the significance? Refer to Amy Scattergood’s article on the subject and she’ll pull from the speakers who mention, “Bowls are great unifiers. We do, after all, live in a town with celebrated bowls…” She goes on to point out major venues such as the Hollywood Bowl and the like. If I can add to the list of popular bowls, there’s the Super Bowl, acai bowl, and taco bowls are also great unifiers in their own right. I may have made that last one up.

Regardless, the Food Bowl will bring people together over the common infatuation over food for thirty-one days. Whatever the name is, it will be a great event that I can’t wait to check out. The more I think about it, the name has a nice ring to it so I can see why they chose it. Plus FoodPlate.com was already taken.

To get all the updates on this event, visit the Food Bowl site starting February 11, 2017!

Follow Them.
Social: Website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.