Area women chefs are gathering to plan the menu and make preparations for the elegant seasonal dinner – Through Women’s Hands IV – they will present this year on Monday, October 2, at the Italian American Community Center (257 Washington Avenue Ext.) in Albany.  Enthusiasm is on the rise as the chefs anticipate the camaraderie of cooking together, with all the main ingredients coming from the hands of local farming women who are widespread throughout out region.

The program starts at 6 p.m. with a social hour to meet women farmers, replete with hors d’oeuvres from women’s hands.  Libations from the bar will also be available.  Dinner is planned for 7 p.m. with a procession of foods – vegetarian fare, as well – appetizers, soup, salads, a variety of entrees, desserts, special teas and coffee.  Even the entertainment for the evening will be provided by area women.  A silent auction of valuable and unique gifts from many regional women artisans and business will be featured during the event.

All proceeds go to the work of the Regional Farm and Food Project (RFFP), a 10-county non-profit organization supporting local sustainable agriculture.  Directed by Tracy Frisch, RFFP has developed and assisted farmers markets and community supported agriculture (CSA) farms, and presents all manner of educational programs.  And farmers – both new and long established – have found new hope in their quest to keep local small and family-scale farming alive through the programs and connections provided by the Regional Farm and Food Project.

Tickets for the dinner are $40 each in advance, at the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, the Open Door Bookstore in Schenectady, the Hawthorne Valley Farm Store in Columbia County, and Celtic Treasures in Saratoga Springs.  For further information or mail-order tickets, call Louise Frazier, organizer of this year’s event, at 465-1553 in Albany.  Since the dinner is usually sold out, it is best to obtain tickets ahead.  If any are available at the door, they will be $45 each.