Spice of Life festival

There is a strong case to be made that the food revolution’s ground zero was Chez Panisse on Shattuck Avenue. The area is known as the “Gourmet Ghetto” for a reason.

So it stands to figure that the neighborhood’s annual “Spice of Life” festival centers heavily around the wonderful food offered from purveyors on Shattuck — from Virginia to Rose.

On Sunday October 17, thousands of people are expected to come to a five-block stretch of Shattuck Avenue to nibble, listen to music, look at art, and people-watch at the eighth Spice of Life Festival. More than 100 exhibitors will have displays at the festival, which runs from 10 am to 6 pm and is sponsored by the North Shattuck Association.

There will be live music from the Jazzschool and Freight & Salvage and cooking demonstrations from the Kitchen on Fire Cooking School. Vintage Berkeley will hold wine tastings at its store on Vine and the North Berkeley Farmers’ Market will also be in operation during the festival. And the East Bay Bicycle Coalition is offering free valet bicycle parking.

For a full list of food purveyors, click here.

Frances Dinkelspiel, Berkeleyside and CItyside co-founder, is a journalist and author. Her first book, Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California, published in November...