L..A. Loves Alex's Lemonade Stand - this Sunday

The culmination of the the food festival season that began in June with Taste of the Nation concludes this Sunday at Culver Studios for the 2nd annual L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade Stand.  The event, a fundraiser to fight pediatric cancer, is spearheaded by the Lucques / AOC team of Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, and Goin's husband David Lentz of The Hungry Cat troika.  The event will be held Sunday November 6th from 1 p 4 pm; tickets are $175 or $400 for VIP.  No tickets will be sold at the door.

In addition to Styne, Goin & Lentz, participating chefs include a who's who of Los Angeles chefs as well as several high profile friends who are flying in, including Jonathan Waxman of Barbuto in New York.  Other chefs flying in for the fundraiser include some of the best regarded female chefs in the country including April Bloomfield of the Spotted Pig in New York, Maria Hines of Tilth in Seattle, Gabrielle Hamilton of Pruhttp://www.prunerestaurant.com/ne in New York and Susan Spicer of Bayona in New Orleans.

The LA contingent is no less star studded and includes Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook from Animal, Michael Cimarusti of Providence, Nancy Silverton and Matt Molina of Mozza, Neal Fraser of Grace, and Zoe Nathan of Huckleberry, among many others.  Click here for a full list of participating chefs.  The talent is pretty incredible for one event, particularly one in only its second year of operation.

For the cocktail contingent, there is also plenty to delight including Neal Bodenheimer from CURE in New Orleans, Greg Lindgren from Rye in San Francisco and Eric Alperin of The Varnish in Downtown Los Angeles.  If the fruit of the vine is more your style, over 30 wineries and importers will be represented, so it will be impossible not to drink well at Alex's Lemonade Stand.

The festivities will be emcee'd by Jimmy Kimmel and honorary co-hosts Neil Patrick Harris and his partner David Burtka will be in attendance.  Don't forget to bring your checkbook for the silent auction.

If you want to get the most out of this event, I recommend that you purchase the Thrillest VIP pass, which entitles you to enter an hour early (11 AM instead of 12 Noon) and includes a special mixology session with Eric Alperin of the Varnish.  Alperin is one of the modern masters of cocktails, so this is a unique opportunity as well as a great deal.  The Thrillest VIP option is only $225, vs $400 for a standard VIP admission ticket, so support a good cause and eat and drink to your heart's content all at the same time.

Giving back to the community was never so delicious.

L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade Stand: Website
Thrillest VIP Tickets

Culver Studios: 9336 Washington Blvd, Culver City