16th Annual SLEE Gala Strengthening Local Economies Everywhere!

Online registration is now closed. You can still purchase tickets at the door on Saturday July 16! 

Seating
Table seating will be limited at the venue. We will prioritize seating at tables for Table Captains and their guests, and individuals with accessibility considerations. If you have accessibility needs that have not yet been communicated, email [email protected] to let us know. Remaining guests will be ‘seated’ at picnic blankets; you are welcome to bring camping chairs or cushions!

CAGJ's 16th SLEE Gala celebrates Black and Indigenous led food justice organizing in Seattle with our keynote by Black Star Farmers. Join us in-person and outdoors for a Covid-safe gathering!

Date: Saturday, July 16th, 2022
Time: 3 - 6 PM PDT
Location: In the garden at MLK Fame Community Center, 3201 E Republican St, Seattle, WA 98112

See below for accessibility info.

Keynote: Black Star Farmers,“Reclaiming Food Sovereignty and Reconnecting to Indigenous Ways of Life”

Keynote speakers: Marcus Henderson, Derrick McDonald, Orian Grant & Cactus

Black Star Farmers is dedicated to creating radical, joyful, and supportive space for communities to reclaim their ancestral foodways. Born out of the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) during the 2020 George Floyd uprising, today they steward several gardens in Seattle, on occupied Duwamish and Coast Salish territory. They are committed to facilitating difficult conversations about race, anti colonialism, anti capitalism, and the abolition of all oppressive systems especially as it relates to BIPOC communities.

Black Star Farmers is actively building a world where mutual aid, collective decision making, mental wellness, conflict awareness, and direct action exist at the center of their practice. This necessitates navigating challenges while remaining steadfast in their commitment to working towards food and land justice. Their multigenerational collective includes people of a multitude of identities including Black, Indigenous, Asian, Euro descendant race traitors, multiracial people, queers, trans people, and women.

Learn more about Black Star Farmers!

Schedule of Events

SAT. July 16th, 3-6PM

3:00 - 4:30 Garden Party: Enjoy libations and hors d’oeuvres while touring the garden cultivated by Keynote Black Star Farmers! As always, SLEE will feature live music, our silent auction, and the opportunity to acquaint yourself with featured food justice organizations and groups promoting urban agriculture, food sovereignty and Fair Trade.

4:30 - 6PM Program including Keynote & presentation by CAGJ

Tickets: Buy now! 

Sliding scale $40-$100: Please be generous in your support! We want to make this event accessible to everyone while also recognizing the need for us to raise crucial funds.

Support a Farmer/Farmworker/Organizer: By purchasing a second ticket (at $50 or $100), you ensure that local farmers, farmworkers and food organizers can be honored guests at our event. Look for this purchasing option when you register.

Solidarity Tickets: We are committed to making this an accessible event for all. If you are unable to afford a full-price ticket, please contact Pukhraj for Solidarity Tickets. 

Table Captains: Bring Friends to SLEE!

Table Captains fill a table for 8 people, and provide CAGJ with important seed funds for our organizing. You can choose between buying a table for you and your 7 guests, or asking your guests to buy tickets individually. Learn more and find a sample email here, or email Katherine.

Volunteers needed to help organize SLEE, and the day-of!

If you are interested in volunteering before, or on the day of the event (as a server, auction helper, child-care, bartender, set-up & clean-up), please check out our SLEE Volunteer Opportunities and contact Pukhraj.

Accessibility Info:

• Seating: Table seating will be limited at the venue. We will prioritize table seating for individuals with accessibility considerations.

• Restrooms: In order to provide a welcoming and inclusive space for trans folks and to make sure that everyone is comfortable and safe, we will provide gender-neutral bathrooms and gender-specific bathrooms at SLEE. There will be clear signs designating which is which and where they are.

• Interpretation: We will do our best to provide interpretation services if requested. Contact [email protected] and we will work to arrange an interpreter to support your needs.

• Free childcare for kids aged 2-10: We will offer free childcare for kids aged 2-10, from 3 - 4:30 outdoors on the playground, and 4:30 - 6 inside. We would appreciate hearing in advance how many kids you will bring to child-care; Email Katherine: [email protected]

COVID Safety Precautions

The entire event will take place outdoors, however restrooms are indoors and we may offer a short film screening indoors. We recommend all guests bring a mask and wear it whenever in close proximity to others, when indoors using restrooms, and near doorways. N95, KN95, and KF94 masks are strongly recommended but not required (CAGJ will provide masks). Attendees are encouraged to ask and express to each other what they need, and to respect those needs and level of risk assessment, such as desiring more space.

CAGJ volunteers including bartenders, servers, and cooks will wear masks at all times.

Prior to SLEE, we request that all guests take a COVID test if possible (either 1 PCR within 72 hours or 2 Rapid Antigen Tests within 48 hours). If you are symptomatic, or have had close contact with someone who has COVID-19 in the 72 hours prior to SLEE, please stay home and take care of yourself!

Thank you to our Sponsors! 

Central Co-op, Equal Exchange, Farmer Direct Organic,  Friends of the Earth,  Loki Fish Company, Madres Kitchen, New Roots Organics, PCC Community Markets, Real Change, Rise Up! Productions, Social Justice Fund,  UAW 4121, UFCW 3000

Thank you to our Community Partners!

350 Seattle, Beacon Food Forest, Clean Greens Farm & Market, Community to Community Development, Familias Unidas por la Justicia, For the People, National Family Farm Coalition, Neighborhood Farmers Markets, Slow Food Seattle, Sustainable Capitol Hill, UW Nutritional Sciences Program, Village Volunteers, WA Fair Trade Coalition

For more information, please contact CAGJ: 206-405-4600 or [email protected]