The 2015 New York City Wine & Food Festival (NYCWFF) kicks off tomorrow, once again giving food lovers a chance to experience some great food while raising money to end hunger.

Hosted by the Food Network & Cooking Channel, this is the 8th year of this event, which runs for 4 days, from Thursday, October 15th – Sunday, October 18th.

The festival takes place at locations throughout the city, with the Culinary Campus located at Piers 92 and 94.

Created to fight hunger, the festival brings famous chefs, wine makers and celebrities from all over the world to participate in tasting demos, cooking classes and more.

All proceeds for this event go to Food Bank For New York City and the No Kid Hungry campaign; 2014’s event raised over 1 million dollars.

If you are interested in going, read on to find out how to get tickets (which are still available), find out about some of the events and more.

Tickets

All of the events for this festival require tickets, which can only be bought online- no tickets will be sold at the door.

There are special event passes (good for select groups of vents) as well as individual tickets still available, but they are going fast.

Tickets range in price from $20 to upwards of $500 depending on the event type; click here for a full list of tickets.

There are 4 types of special event passes: the Director’s Weekend Pass, Grand Tasting Weekend Pass, Pier 92 Pass & Party Animal Pass; you can see availability and pricing here.

There are also several $100 and under options for individual tickets to discussion panels from Food & Wine, beer making classes, sushi demos and more.

Events

There are literally hundreds of events over the next 4 days to see and participate in, which you can see a full list of here.

While they are all great, here are our top 5 suggestions:

1.Jets + Chefs: The Ultimate Tailgate.  Hosted by culinary icon Mario Battali and legendary football player Joe Namath this event features the ultimate in tailgating foods and games for fans of all ages at Pier 92 rooftop.  Saturday, October  17th from 12-3 P.M. (EST). $150/adult, $50/child.  Tickets still available here.

2. Top Dog – A NYC Hot Dog Competition: To commemorate Bizarre Foods‘ 200th episode, host Andrew Zimmeran oversees this new event, where some of the best hot dog makers participate in the ultimate throw-down at The Standard High Line Biergarten & Garden Rooms.  Saturday October 17 from 4-6 P.M. (EST). $110. Tickets still available here.

3. Dinner with April Bloomfield and Amanda Cohen. Two of the biggest female chefs team up for a special veggie-focused dinner.  Thursday, October 15th at Liberty Hall at 7 P.M. (EST). $250. Tickets still available here.

4. Cooking With the Stars: Celebrities from all genres, including Valerie Bertinelli, Lo Bosworth (The Hills),and Coolio discuss how they got into the food industry at the Hudson Hotel (Mezzanine, Gallery B). Friday October 16th at 4:30 P.M. (EST). $20. Tickets still available here.

5. Dinner with Charles Phan and Justin Smilie: Slanted Door’s Charles Phan teams up with Upland’s Justin Smilie to create the ultimate meal at at Haven’s Kitchen.  Thursday, October 15 at 7 P.M. (EST).  Everyonme who attends will receive a copy of Phan’s latest cookbook. $250. Tickets still available here.

Will you be attending the 205 NYCWFF?

Tell us if you plan to go, what you plan to attend and why below and be sure to  follow all my latest consumer news reports on Twitter!