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Book Larder might not be the very first place you’d think to go during happy hour, but on May 10 the Fremont cookbook store will be a prime after-work destination, when it will bring together some of Seattle’s top bakers offering treats from 4 to 6 p.m. as part of a fundraising event dubbed “More Than a Bake Sale.”
The catalyst for the fundraiser is a store visit and author talk that same evening from three-time James Beard Award-nominated pastry chef and More Than Cake author Natasha Pickowicz, who is known for organizing much-hyped bake sales to raise money for Planned Parenthood and other good causes.
“We’ve long been fans of Natasha’s community-driven mission and commitment to fundraising through baking,” says Book Larder’s Naoise McGee. “As a ‘community cookbook store’... we have strived to be a gathering space and resource for our own community here in Seattle. Natasha’s blueprint of partnering with incredible local bakers and chefs to share their creations and raise much needed funds and awareness is a wonderful opportunity to live our values and bring people together.”
All the proceeds from More Than a Bake Sale will go to Indigenous Women Rising, an organization whose mission is equitable and culturally safe reproductive health options for Indigenous people — an especially pressing issue after the only hospital in Toppenish, on the Yakama Reservation, closed suddenly in December 2022.
Who’s on board for the cause? Saint Bread, Temple Pastries, the Pastry Project, Linnea Scott of Twin Flower Baking Co., Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle et Vanille, Samantha Gainsburg of Bakers for Abortion Access, and Pickowicz herself. These bakers “are some of the busiest and most in-demand in Seattle,” says McGee. “We want to lift up and give a big shout out to (them) for volunteering their time and resources for this fundraiser.”
Folks who want to support the mission and also eat delicious treats can buy up to five tickets (one ticket gets you one baked good), which are available in advance on the event website. A limited number of tickets will also be available at the door the day of the fundraiser, even if the online tickets sell out.
Disclosure: Eater Seattle’s editor Harry Cheadle is married to Book Larder’s Naoise McGee.