New York City's 9th Avenue Hosts International Food Festival

Foodies hungry for a moveable feast can stroll down New York's Ninth Avenue for this weekend's 39th annual Ninth Avenue International Food Festival.

The free street fair that runs down Ninth Avenue from 42nd Street to 57th Street features more than 300 food vendors and merchants selling food, jewelry, clothing, music, and arts and crafts.

Festival-goers can graze on ethnic food that is representative of the neighborhood's cultures, like Greek baklava, Indian tandoori chicken, Southern mac and cheese, Mediterranean lamb kabobs, Irish beef stew, Japanese miso chocolate cake, Thai pineapple fried rice, and Polish pierogies, along with fresh-squeezed lemonade, fruit smoothies, and drinks from Wild Bill's Olde Fashioned Soda Pop Co.

Sponsored by the Ninth Avenue Association, a group of Ninth Avenue merchants who work to bring awareness to Ninth Avenue's businesses and diverse community, the festival raises money for the communities of Chelsea, Clinton, and Hell's Kitchen. Festival profits go to community programs, scholarships, activities for seniors, and holiday charity giveaways.

The Ninth Avenue International Food Festival is held rain or shine, noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Area choir and dance troupes will be continuously performing on the corner of 55th Street and a children's pavilion with bouncy houses, slides, and water games will be on Ninth Avenue between 53rd and 54th Streets.