On the evening of Monday September 22, Food Tank will host “The Performing Arts Lights the Way: A Climate Week Celebration” during Climate Week NYC, in partnership with the McKnight Foundation and the Broadway Green Alliance. The invitation-only event will feature a lineup of short performances—music, spoken word, movement, theatre, live art, and more—alongside food tastings and interactive conversations.
“As we kick off Climate Week, we know we are at a tipping point. The climate crisis is no longer abstract—it’s here. Yet so is an opportunity: to lead with culture, with care, and with collective vision,” says Tonya Allen, President and CEO of the McKnight Foundation. “This is where performing artists and cultural bearers play a vital role. They give us language to express our grief, fear, and curiosity. They remind us that joy and justice go together. They invite us into spaces of imagining that a different world and a different way is possible, and that in some places, it’s already taking shape.”
The event aims to celebrate the intersection of the arts, food, and the environment, and how to harness that energy to create change. It will bring a wide range of perspectives to the stage, from farmers and chefs to actors and activists, to create spaces that “are essential for storytelling and community-building, two pillars of meaningful change,” says Austin Braxton-Smith, Program Manager at the Broadway Green Alliance.
“The climate crisis can feel overwhelming, but ‘The Performing Arts Lights the Way’ shows the power of creativity and collaboration to spark change,” says Molly Braverman, Director of the Broadway Green Alliance. “We are thrilled to join forces with Food Tank and the McKnight Foundation to harness the joy of the arts, uplift solutions, and leave attendees inspired, connected, and ready to carry the momentum of Climate Week forward.”
The program will be held in the Greene Space at WNYC-NPR Studios from 7 pm to 10 pm. A reception will precede and follow the performances, including cocktails, wine, beer, and a variety of hors d’oeuvres.
Confirmed speakers, moderators, and performers include Pattie Gonia (Wyn Wiley), Drag Queen, Environmental and LGBTQ+ Activist who merges outdoor adventure, inclusivity, and climate justice with joy and performance art; Sean Sherman, Chef and Founder, The Sioux Chef and NATIFS; Kim Severson, Food Correspondent, The New York Times; Amber Rubarth, an acclaimed singer-songwriter and former chainsaw sculptor whose latest album Cover Crop reimagines classic songs as a meditation on our interconnection with nature; Tamika Lawrence, two-time Grammy winner (Dear Evan Hansen, The Greatest Showman) and Broadway veteran (If/Then, Beautiful, Matilda, Come From Away, Caroline, or Change, The Heart of Rock and Roll), accompanied by Ben Hoffmann, a Brooklyn-based keyboardist recently touring around the world with Adi Oasis; Tonya Allen, President, McKnight Foundation; Alysia Reiner, Award-winning Actress, Producer, Activist, and Environmental Advocate (star of Orange Is the New Black, Ms. Marvel, Better Things); Lakisha May, Broadway and TV actress (Skeleton Crew, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Law & Order: SVU), food justice advocate, Board Member at SÜPRMARKT, and former Chair of the James Beard Leadership Awards Committee; Ricardo Levins Morales, Visual Artist and McKnight Distinguished Artist known for blending activism and art to uplift movements for justice and healing; Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, regenerative farmer, agronomist, and founder of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance and Tree-Range Farms, pioneering poultry-centered agroforestry systems; Seitu Ken Jones, multidisciplinary artist and McKnight Distinguished Artist whose work explores food, justice, and community through public art and storytelling; Eliza Ohman, New York–based performer and choreographer (Hamilton, King Kong, SIX: The Musical, Fosse/Verdon, Up Here, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel); Douglas Ewart, Jamaican-born multi-instrumentalist, composer, and instrument builder whose performances span saxophones, clarinets, flutes, didgeridoo, and Rastafarian hand drums; and Jennifer Noble, New York–based Broadway actor, singer, and dancer (Ghost: The Musical, King Kong, Kinky Boots, The Heart of Rock and Roll), accompanied by Ryan Fielding Garrett, a Broadway music director, composer, and orchestrator whose credits include Kinky Boots, Wicked, Back to the Future, The Notebook, Mean Girls, Hamilton, Mary Poppins, Finding Neverland, New York New York, and Sweeney Todd with the NY Philharmonic.
Click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2025.
