The folks organizing Taste of Tribeca—the May 15 event benefiting P.S. 150 and P.S. 234—invited me to sit in on their meeting this morning, and I have to say, I had no idea how much work goes into the event. But first: Tickets are only $35, which is $5 less than if you wait until May 1 and $10 less than if you wait until May 15, so buy your tickets now at tasteoftribeca.org. Don’t be a ninny—just do it!

This photo is particularly lame because I didn't want to interrupt the meeting to ask if I could take a picture

There were about 30 attendees (the meeting was in the P.S. 234 cafeteria), and chairs Sean Murphy Turner and Jimmy Carbone called on the people in charge of various areas: restaurants (65 are currently signed on), permits (yes, they need more than one), signage (both at the event and to promote it), volunteers (are you waiting for an engraved invitation?), corporate sponsors (ka-ching!), premium tables ($750 for six seats and a runner to get you food; if you want me to grace your table it’ll cost an extra $1,000, which I will share with Taste of Tribeca, I promise), wine stores for the self-guided wine-store tour, the website, the kids’ zone (which will have face painters, a balloon artist, and other entertainers), window decals for participating restaurants…. There’s so much that has to be done that the casual observer will never even see—sourcing bread and olive oil for the premium tables, washing the ramekins that the oil will go in, getting someone to donate coffee and bagels for the volunteers and pizza for the student helpers, finding a sponsor to pay for tickets for seniors from Independence Plaza, and so on. And yet, everything seems to be running incredibly smoothly. I do hope saying that doesn’t jinx it.

The sponsorships are on track to cover operating costs, which means that ticket sales will be pure profit—which, again, goes to the schools. You’ll soon be able to buy tickets at Tribeca Film Festival’s Family Festival on May 1, outside the schools, and at Washington Market Park and Rockefeller Park. If you’re a parent at the schools—or even if you’re not—you should consider volunteering, as they can always use more folks to staff the ticket booths. But even if you have zero connection to the schools, go buy your ticket now: Taste of Tribeca is a great cause and a fun event, and besides, I’ll be there, wearing my Tribeca Citizen T-shirt (more on that later…).

P.S. A reader emailed asking the timing of the event and whether tastings are unlimited. The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and your ticket gets you six tastes from any of the 65 restaurants. (Want 12 tastes? Buy two tickets.) There will also be beverages for sale, such as Waa-tah, City Winery’s kids’ juice, Fizzy Lizzy, and a new ginger soda from Asian-food expert Bruce Cost.