NYC Food Film Festival Kicks Off 6/23

The NYC Food Film Festival (June 23 - 27) announced today that the 2010 Festival is set to kick off with The Great New York City Shuck 'N Suck. On Wednesday, June 23, Oyster lovers from near and far will descend upon Water Taxi Beach at the South Street Seaport for an oyster evening of epic proportions. Attendees will dine from an all-you-can-eat oyster menu featuring some rare varieties on the half-shell that will be featured in four short films screening during the meal. The night opens with New York City's 1st official Shuck 'n Suck Contest, in which 2-person teams (1 shucker and 1 sucker) will compete to see who has the skills to claim the title Best Shuck 'N Sucker in the Big Apple.

As if an Oyster bash were not thrilling enough, Thursday, June 24th offers up Chef Brad Farmerie (Double Crown / PUBLIC) curating a phenomenal evening of Southeast Asian Street Food at the Astor Center, where a selection of films will be screened while attendees sample Farmerie and friends' peerless fare. Pig's blood popsicles anyone?

Friday night, June 25th, at Water Taxi Beach, Long Island City, offers a screening of many exotic food films, including Joe York's Smokes & Ears and a taste of the legendary pig ear sandwich from The Big Apple Inn in Jackson, Mississippi. On Saturday, June 26th, The World's First Food Truck Drive-In takes place under the Brooklyn Bridge for 10 hours of mobile madness. The original lot of FREE tickets for the event were distributed in less than 24 hours. While not yet able to offer more tickets, we are proud to announce that the first 10 trucks participating in the event are: Wafels ‘n Dinges, Treats Truck, Street Sweets, NYC Cravings, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, Soler Dominican, the Bistro Truck, Green Pirate Juice Truck, Jiannettos Pizza and Rickshaw Dumplings. The Festival continues to register vendors for the event and will provide vendor updates as the event draws near. Co-Founder and Executive Chef for the Festival Harry Hawk said, "This event is by far the largest and most diverse gathering of non-traditional vendors New York has ever seen. I hope people are ready to eat."

To close out the 2010 Festivities in New York, the NYC Food Film Festival presents two events on Sunday, June 27th. At high noon, enjoy a screening of the vintage food film, It's Grits! followed by a Grits Takedown from cooking competition guru Matt Timms, featuring 30+ Grits dishes from NYC amateur chefs. Later that evening, the Festival offers its first Brooklyn Burger 'N Beer Garden featuring a screening of Anat Baron's Beer Wars, an all-inclusive menu of burgers and craft brews and the Closing Awards Ceremonies for the 2010 summer season.

Looking for libations to wash this all down? The Festival is proud to announce that its Official Festival Mixologist for 2010 is Slow Food USA alumn Allen Katz. Allen will design and oversee an intriguing and intoxicating cocktail menu inspired by, and paired with, the many foods and food films of the 2010 Festival. Somehow, he will continue his work on his soon-to-open New York Distilling Company, his responsibilities as Director of Mixology for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York, and hosting the weekly Cocktail Hour for Martha Stewart's Sirius Satellite Radio. "I've been patiently waiting for just this type of opportunity - to kick back with a drink and enjoy an entertaining movie," he said with relief.

For those who act quickly, the Festival is offering a limited number of discounted VIP Passes and Pre-Sale Tickets to most events beginning today, Friday, May 14th at 12 Noon EDT. Visit www.nycfoodfilmfestival.com to order online.