Climate Week NYC: The Performing Arts Light the Way at WNYC-NPR

Join us for The Performing Arts Lights the Way: A Climate Week Celebration, an unforgettable evening bringing together the power of performance and the urgency of climate action. Presented by Food Tank in partnership with the McKnight Foundation, this immersive event kicks off Climate Week NYC on Monday, September 22nd at WNYC-NPR’s The Greene Space.

This one-night-only experience features live theater, dance, poetry, and visual art—showcasing how artists are lighting the way forward in the face of the climate crisis. The evening also includes curated bites from celebrity chefs, craft cocktails, and meaningful opportunities for audience engagement.

Confirmed speakers, moderators, and performers include—and many more to be announced: 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); 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 Co-Vice Chair of the James Beard Foundation Leadership Awards; Ricardo Levins Morales, Visual Artist and McKnight Distinguished Artist known for blending activism and art to uplift movements for justice and healing; Eliza Ohman, New York–based performer and choreographer (Hamilton, King Kong, SIX: The Musical, Fosse/Verdon, Up Here, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel); 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.

Schedule:
7:00 PM – Opening Reception
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM – Performances
9:00 PM – 9:30 PM – Closing Reception

This event is by invitation-only. If you would like to request to be considered for an invitation or for press passes, please email Bernard at Bernard@FoodTank.com. This event is also open to all for live-streaming.

Food Tank is the world’s fastest growing global non-profit community working towards positive transformation in how we produce and consume food. As one of the food and agriculture movement’s most dynamic conveners, we educate and collaborate with local partners to amplify on-the-ground solutions.

Checkout Food Tank's full lineup of events during Climate Week NYC from Sunday, Sept 21-Friday, Sept 26 by clicking HERE.