Cabbage and the City
Blending civic conversation with culinary tradition
Sunday, November 23, 2025 | 5:30 PM 鈥� 8:00 PM
Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Avenue, Vancouver
Pay What You Can | Suggested donation of $10
Limited capacity: 35 guests | RSVP by November 21 to Arthi Chandra at cabbageandthecity@gmail.com
Inspired by the historic practice of Lectores鈥攁cademics, journalists, and co-workers who would read aloud to Cuban cigar rollers as they worked鈥攖his unique event invites participants to learn the art of cabbage rolling while engaging with future considerations of our city.
Featured Speakers
Deb Chachra 鈥� Professor and author (Olin College of Engineering)
Nate Lewis 鈥� Local journalist (Vancity Lookout)
Both speakers have been asked to respond to the prompt: "How do we get this city right?"
Each will present their response before we open the floor to conversation and participant questions.
Throughout the evening, participants will receive instruction from in-house cabbage roll specialist Linda Chobotuck on how to prepare their own cabbage rolls to take home.
And then we eat.
What's Included
- All cabbage rolling materials and ingredients
- A culminating meal of cabbage rolls
What to Bring
- A cooking dish (8"脳8" or 9"脳16") to take your cabbage rolls home
- BYOB
Biographies
Deb Chachra, PhD, is the author of (recognised by Publishers Weekly as a 鈥楤est Book of 2023鈥�) and Professor of Engineering at Olin College of Engineering, outside Boston, Massachusetts, where she was among the earliest faculty members. She is currently on leave from this role, continuing to write, think, speak, build, consult, collaborate, and facilitate globally, with a focus on infrastructure and the built environment, design, equity and inclusion, and education. Her writing has been published in the Atlantic, Time, the Guardian, and Nature. She appeared on the Vox 鈥淔uturePerfect 2024鈥�, a list of activists and thinkers working to build a more positive future, and her TED talk on infrastructure can be found online. Deb grew up and went to university in Toronto and she recently relocated to East Vancouver.
Nate Lewis is a reporter, writer, and editor born and raised in Vancouver. Nate writes about a wide array of subjects, from politics, policy, and infrastructure projects, to arts and culture, social movements, and sports. When he鈥檚 not writing or ferreting out stories you can find Nate biking, hanging out with friends, walking his dog Sola all over the city, or dancing at a local venue.