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GLOVERSVILLE — Community activist Lashawn Hawkins is getting down to bisque-ness.
Roughly 18 establishments across Fulton, Saratoga and Schenectady counties will be pouring soup and chili come Saturday at Hawkins’ three-hour inaugural soup festival.
Here’s how it works: for $5, guests can sample a medley of soupy concoctions at Gloversville Middle School. Each brothy or creamy blend will be served in a five-ounce cup.
The event, modeled after the Saratoga Chowderfest and Schenectady Soup Stroll, was quickly organized by Hawkins as a means of attracting business to the region and raising funds for the social justice group, I Can Breathe And I Can Speak.
If this event is successful, she hopes to launch a five-county soup festival in the twin cities next year.
“I’m trying to get more businesses and more people in general to come to our area in a positive light,” Hawkins said.
The event will include both a winner selected by panel and one voted on by attendants. Gloversville Enlarged School District Superintendent David Halloran, Fulton County Sheriff Rich Giardino and Gloversville Mayor Vincent DeSantis will judge the taste-off.
Halloran, a self-proclaimed French onion soup aficionado, will has some limitations.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I told her I’m allergic to shellfish so I just can’t have anything seafood-based.”
Accommodations will be provided both for Halloran and DeSantis, a vegetarian.
Hawkins, herself, is a longtime soup enthusiast and potager, a lesser-known quality comparative to her Black Lives Matter activism since 2020. The one-time council candidate has prided herself on trying to build community relations between residents of color and law enforcement.
For her, food has helped.
“It’s a big reason me and Sheriff Giardino get along so well,” she said with a laugh, noting their shared love of pasta.
Hawkins hopes to raise $2,500 from the event. Most of it would go to youth programming in the spring, and the rest, event insurance.
Children below 3 years old get in for free.
The soupy experience will begin at 11 a.m. and end at 2 p.m.
Correction 3/8 9:54 a.m.: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Hawkins’ former status related to the council. She once ran for council, but has not been a council member.
Tyler A. McNeil can be reached at 518-395-3047 or [email protected] Follow him on Facebook at Tyler A. McNeil, Daily Gazette or Twitter @TylerAMcNeil.
