When most people hear the name Alphabet City, they think of the East Village in Manhattan. You know, the former drug and crime infested streets marked A through D which are now home to some of the hippest bar and restaurants in New York. Well, Toronto now has its own Alphabet City. But instead of a neighbourhood, ours is a month long arts, ideas and culinary festival that promises to challenge everyone to change their thinking about local food and sustainable growth in our rapidly expanding city.

Alphabet City kicks off tonight with a fundraiser at the Gladstone Hotel but the "official" opening dinner is next Wednesday at the Drake. Among the events that I plan to check out include a tour of the Ontario Food Terminal next Thursday, an exhibit showcasing the results of a national street food vending cart design competition at the Design Exchange and an exhibit at the CONTACT Gallery (80 Spadina) showing artist Dean Baldwin's photographs of almost everything he ate and drank over the course of a year.

More events listed in Alphabet City's complete schedule.

Photo from the Alphabet City web site