Baltimore Adds 'FoodLab' Track To Its Innovation Conference

Last year, the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts launched the first large-scale, international light festival in the country called Light City Baltimore. The festival included light installations, performances, music, and innovation. After great interest in food and education during last year's conference, organizers have added a new food track to the lineup: FoodLab@LightCity.

FoodLab will be held at Columbus Center on April 8 and will allow attendees to dive deep into the culinary world to learn how food is grown, is accessed, and impacts society, according to the festival website.

"It's kind of going to be like a who's who of the Baltimore food scene," Jamie McDonald, volunteer chair of the Light City steering committee, told Baltimore Magazine. "But the magic of what we're doing is we're putting local folks on the stage with some of the biggest names in the sector as peers."

Speakers include James Beard Award-winning Spike Gjerde, chef and partner of Woodberry Kitchen; and Jeff Henderson, chef and creator of The Chef Jeff Project on the Food Network and the host of Flip My Food.

FoodLab will be one of the six conferences available during the festival, which will take place March 31 through April 8.