Seattle Center's Next 50 Food & Waste Day Activities Announced

Food & Waste Day, May 12, celebrates local efforts to sustain safe and healthy food and minimize waste far into the future. The day, part of Next 50 Sustainable Futures month, offers a series of fun-filled activities through which Next 50 visitors may explore the local food movement and how we can better grow, prepare and preserve our food resources.

FOOD & WASTE DAY HIGHLIGHTS:
School the Chefs, 12 p.m. – 4 p.m., on Saturday, May 12, in the Next 50 Activity Tent in Next 50 Plaza, demonstrates how healthy, locally sourced school lunches can be tasty and economically viable. The event showcases the results of a two-year federal grant funded program to rethink the school lunch program in Seattle Public Schools (SPS) with a focus on South Seattle. Local celebrity chefs invited by Tom Douglas, Inc. will coach teams of kids from participating schools to cook a school lunch for a fixed cost with both nutrition and taste in mind.

Participating chefs confirmed-to-date include: Lisa Dupar, Leslie Mackie, Eric Tanaka, Josh Henderson, Kären Jurgensen, Jerry Traunfield, Jonathan Zimmer, Katherine Kehrli, and Rebecca Early. Program partners are Tom Douglas Inc., King County Public Health and Seattle Public Schools Nutrition Services. In two rounds of adjudication, SPS Students will review for taste, and a SPS Nutrition Services Director and faculty from Seattle Culinary Academy and Bastyr University will rate the nutritional value. Event sponsors are PCC Natural Markets, Bargreen Ellingson and Gateway.

Food and Waste Education Activities, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., includes hands on learning for the whole family. Programs will highlight tips, tools and practical ideas covering: healthy food choices, urban farming and waste reduction. Partners: Forterra/King County Solid Waste, Cascade Harvest Coalition, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch program, and more. Free and open to the public.

Community Outreach Tables, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., provides information, insights and materials by local food, farm and culinary organizations including: Cascade Harvest Coalition, Les Dames D’Escoffier Green Tables Program, Forterra, King County and Seattle Public Utilities Solid Waste, Cleanscapes, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch, PCC Natural Markets/Kid Picks Mobile and all event sponsors. Free and open to the general public.

Food Trucks, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., small and customized, local artisanal food trucks, organized by Levy Restaurants at Seattle Center, provide a variety of food and beverage items. Open to the general public for cash sales only.

Ballard Food Bank Drive, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., excepts non-perishable food items for distribution to elderly and disabled clients and several shelters in the greater Seattle area, at Seattle Center entry gates at 2nd Avenue North and Thomas Street, Harrison Street off of 5th Avenue North and at the walkway entry off of Mercer Street between Intiman Playhouse and the Exhibition Hall. The Food Drive is part of Next 50 Seattle Takes Care, which offers community members a variety of opportunities to work together to improve people’s lives locally and globally.

ART INSTALLATIONS/PERFORMANCES THIS WEEKEND:
A variety of temporary art projects highlighting environmental sustainability are sponsored by the City of Seattle, through the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs 1% for Art program. Seattle.gov/arts, with performances and screenings during Water & Habitat Weekend including:

· Stokley Towles in Stormwater: Life in the Gutter reveals the world of urban rainfall and traces its travels from the clouds to the city's streets, homes, businesses and the sewer lines below May 11, 7 p.m.; May 12, 1 p.m. Seattle Public Utilities Field Station in Next 50 Plaza. Presented by SPU.

· Mandy Greer in an evolving crochet installation, a meditation on urban creeks entitled Matter Matrix Mother Medium, displayed in the Dupen Fountain and Alki Courtyard.

· An exploration by Stacy Levy of land-water connections and sustainable infrastructure called Straw Garden, ongoing, open all hours, Broad Street Green.

SUSTAINABLE FUTURES EXHIBITS:
Living City Design Competition exhibit: showcasing leading ideas about the future of cities that are carbon neutral, net zero in their water and energy consumption and wholesome for people. 12 p.m. – 5 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays through May 31, Intiman Playhouse Lobby. Cascadiagbc.org.

Our Sustainable Futures Experience exhibit: addressing what might surprise us about our region’s collective efforts when we look back 50 years from now. The exhibit looks at our region, the choices we make, and the ideas, policies, innovations and technologies that help our region and our world to live more sustainably, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, through Jun 24, Next 50 Pavilion, Next 50 Plaza.

Urban Intervention exhibit: highlighting designs and ideas by the finalists, commendation awardees and other inspiring entries that portray a fresh vision for the heart of the Center as a model for the future of public space, May 11 – June 30, Intiman Playhouse Lobby.
The Next Fifty continues through Oct 21 with six months of events, attractions and family activities focusing on Arts, Culture and Design; History; Sustainable Futures; Science and Technology; Global Health; Learning; Commerce and the Innovation Economy; and Civic Action. Seattle Center Foundation heads up the 50th anniversary celebration, working with 19 volunteer committees to plan the events. For more information on The Next Fifty and Seattle Center, visit www.seattlecenter.com or call 206 684-7200.

ABOUT SEATTLE CENTER AND THE NEXT FIFTY
Since its beginning 50 years ago, Seattle Center has served as a cultural and civic gathering place at the core of our region. In 2012, The Next Fifty at Seattle Center celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1962 World’s Fair and the physical legacy it left. The 74-acre Seattle Center campus exists to delight and inspire the human spirit in each person and bring together our rich and varied community. The 12 million visits to Seattle Center each year generate $1.15 billion in business activity and $387 million in labor income for King County.

Next 50 premier partners include: Bartell Drugs, Bill & MeLinda Gates Foundation, Coca-Cola, Grousemont Foundation, Microsoft, Samsung, Seattle Center Monorail, T-Mobile, TPN (The Production Network) and World Vision. Funding and participating partners include: 206 Inc., 4Culture, City of Seattle, Global Health Nexus, Hill & Knowlton Strategies, KOMO 4 TV, KUOW 94.9 Public Radio, One to the World, Safeco Insurance: A Liberty Mutual Company, Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Washington Economic Development Commission.

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