On October 23 and 24, the National Museum of American History will be opening its doors to the nation’s most innovative pioneers in the food industry for this year’s Food History Weekend. So grab your best cooking (or museum) buddy, postpone your brunch plans to Sunday, and culture yoself. Here’s the who, what, when, where, and why of the weekend:
Photo courtesy of the National Museum of American History
1. Who will be there?
As DC is among the most highly regarded cultural hubs of the world, the museum will be hosting an array of leading figures in agriculture, culinary arts, food history, and more. Between Friday evening’s roundtable event and Saturday’s festival, you can tune in to lectures from pastry chef Jim Dodge, Seth Goldman (co-founder of Honest Tea) Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Krysta Harden, and more.
2. What is this thing?
The weekend consists of a few different events. We’re here to tell you about the Food History Weekend roundtable event, a day-long discussion forum held by some of the most innovative minds in today’s culinary world, and the Food History Festival, which will occupy a good chunk of the museum.
For the future historians, policy developers, and businesspeople out there, the roundtable event is probably for you: this is your chance to hear discussions on the historical development of food practices, up-and-coming reforms in the agriculture industry, and the ever-changing world of the food industry.
As for those who want to pick up some tips on baking, see some awesome food-related artifacts, or learn about some amazing new cookbooks or chefs, check out the festival, which will cover all those bases, and much more.
Photo courtesy of americanhistory.si.edu
3. Where is this, again?
The weekend’s events all take place at the National Museum of American History. Have your sights set on a certain event? Check out each day’s schedule for locations of the different events around the museum.
4. And when, exactly?
Check-in for the roundtable symposium is at 9:30 am on Friday, October 23. You can get the day’s full schedule here (they even carved out a sufficient time for a delicious lunch in the museum’s café). PS: you’ll need to register online for Friday’s activities.
Photo courtesy of americanhistory.si.edu
The festival events begin Saturday, October 24 at 10 am and run until 5:30 pm. You can check that schedule out here (which includes another opportunity to eat whatever you missed out on yesterday).
5. Why should I spend my weekend in a museum?
Besides being filled with cool people, artifacts, and activities, all roundtable and festival events free.
Yep. You can drink in alllll this fantastic culture FO FREE. Just think, you’ll finally be able to tell the difference between a sweet potato and a yam, or the secret to making some killer guac. These things are important, people.
So put on your most convincing foodie facades, and let’s get cultured.