DESSERT GOALS GOES DIGITAL
Two-Days of Exclusive Baking Demos, Live Panels, Interactive Activities & Sweet Deals Benefiting No Kid Hungry from the Team Behind the Beloved Dessert Festival
On Friday, July 31st and Saturday, August 1st, Miraya Berke, founder of the wildly popular Dessert Goals - a bicoastal festival celebrating all things sweet - will produce her first exclusively digital event. The virtual festival will turn a weekend at home into a sweet gathering, bringing dessert-lovers together nationwide to experience Dessert Goals in a whole new way, safely from the comfort of home.
Boasting a Creamsicle Dreamsicle theme, Digital Dessert Goals will offer a reimagined version of the sugar-focused festival that was originally scheduled to take place in New York City in May – the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two days of interactive programming will include virtual panels, baking demos with celebrated chefs, a birthday celebration, dessert happy hour, an energizing morning fitness class, family-friendly activities, a keynote speech, and much more. Panel topics will range from “How to Start a Food Business” to “How to Become a Food Influencer.” Confirmed partners include Tipsy Scoop, Jessica Siskin of Misterkrisp, Simon Tung of Macaron Parlour, Wenter Shyu of Third Culture Bakery, Pooja Bavishi of Malai Ice Cream, Jeremy Jacobowitz of @BrunchBoys, and Vallery Lomas of @FoodieInNewYork, with many more to be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets will also include access to a curated dessert marketplace, providing a forum for independent merchants to showcase sweet offerings and exclusive treats available for home delivery at discounted prices. Designed to evoke the same delight experienced at the physical festival, the marketplace will also provide a much-needed revenue stream for small hospitality businesses impacted by the pandemic. There are currently over 20 vendors confirmed for the marketplace including Buttery Popcorn Co., Gracie Baked, Illuminatea, Insomnia Cookies, Little Red Kitchen Treats, Spoonable Spirits, with many additions to come! The marketplace will also provide a discount code to purchase a Coconut Macaron Making Kit from Red Velvet NYC. Attendees that choose to purchase the kit ahead of time will have the opportunity to bake along at home with a live demonstration.
Digital Dessert Goals is all about having fun, indulging, and embracing your inner child. In an effort to help ensure no child ever has to worry about their next meal, Digital Dessert Goals will donate $1 for every ticket purchased to No Kid Hungry, a national campaign to end child hunger in America. Dessert Goals will also launch a scholarship program on Monday, July 20th, that offers free festival access to 200 frontline workers and out of work hospitality industry professionals, with the goal of bringing a bit of sweetness and joy to those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since launching Dessert Goals in 2016, founder Miraya Berke – a dessert lover since childhood – has mounted successful festivals in both New York City and Los Angeles; she also debuted a popular sister festival, Rom Com Fest, in 2019. Like many event specialists, Berke was forced to cancel both in-person installments of Dessert Goals in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She swiftly and pragmatically pivoted to an entirely new version of the event and looks forward to channeling the incredible energy of Dessert Goals’ live gatherings into the virtual space, offering her community a fun and educational respite this summer.
Berke shared, “The past few months have been a roller coaster for me and for all of us across America and the larger world. While it’s been challenging to grapple with the loss of the in-person festival I was planning – our 10th! – I’ve also been so inspired by the challenge of conceptualizing how to bring our experience online and provide joy to our community during this strange moment. Our goal is to create something truly unique and engaging and continue to raise the bar for what virtual experiences can be.”
Dessert Goals will be streamed digitally on Vimeo and Zoom on Friday, July 31st (5pm EST - 6:30pm EST) and Saturday, August 1st (11am EST - 4pm EST). Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, July 9th at 11am EST. Visit DessertGoals.com for details.
Virtual Ticket ($25) includes:
Two days of exciting original content, both live and pre-recorded, available to stream for a week after the event
Access to the Virtual Vendor Marketplace including 20+ (and growing) nationwide dessert vendors offering discounts, free shipping, and exclusive desserts. You’ll receive the link the moment you purchase your ticket!
Discount code for a Dessert Demo Box from Red Velvet NYC, so you can bake along with the live demo
Recipes and shopping lists for all the demos and activities
A Virtual Goody Bag with lifestyle products, snacks, and other sweet treats
Entry to win surprise prizes
$1 of each ticket donated to No Kid Hungry, a national campaign to end childhood hunger in America