I love New York. I love the people, the places, and events, the opportunities, and the food. And I love when it all intersects. Like this weekend at the first ever NYC Dumpling Festival -- taking place October 24 in Sara D. Roosevelt Park off East Houston Street in Manhattan.

From 12 PM to 5 PM in Chinatown, the event will feature cookbook signings with Chefs Wai Hon Chu (co-author of The Dumpling: A Seasonal Guide) and Jaden Hair (author of The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook: 101 Asian Recipes Simple Enough for Tonight's Dinner), an East Village dumpling tour, dumpling making classes, family games, and a dumpling eating contest. Guests and attendees will also be able to taste and experience dumplings from around the world with offerings such as gnocchi (Italy), tamale (Mexico), palitaw (Philippines), kuih koci (Malaysia), idli (India), bao (China), and pierogi (Poland).

All proceeds from the NYC Dumpling Festival will benefit the Food Bank For New York City. (And a big thanks for C.B. Cebulski for the tip!)