A community borsch tasting competition — multiple home cooks, one lineup of homemade borsch, and every guest gets to vote for their favorite.
- When
- Saturday, August 8, 2026
- Doors 5:00 PM
- Where
- Kirkland, WA
- Exact address sent to ticket holders once your spot is confirmed
- Reserve
About
A homemade borsch tasting — the neighborhood tries every pot side by side.
Guests taste a lineup of homemade borsch from multiple competing cooks and vote for their favorite; the winner takes home a small surprise gift. Kid-friendly summer community event.
Voting
Vote for your favourite borsch
Every ticket holder gets votes. Scan your ticket QR code once — with the camera or by uploading a screenshot of it — and you can vote straight from this page, from any borsch page, or by scanning the code beside a pot.
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The lineup goes live once the cooks are numbered on the day of the event.
Schedule
- 5:00 PMDoors open — music, mingling
- 5:00 – 6:00 PMWarm-up and meal presentation setup
- 6:00 PMParticipant introductions
- 6:30 – 7:30 PMTaste and vote — each ticket includes a QR code good for 3 votes
- 7:30 PMWinner announcement / gifts / celebration
- 7:45 – 8:30 PMMusic / hanging out / pool time
How voting works
- Step 1 — scan your ticket's QR code (emailed after checkout) or click the link in the email. Your phone remembers your ticket (stored in browser cookies).
- Step 2 — vote manually by entering borsch numbers, or scan the QR code next to a pot to vote for that borsch.
Guest, cook and sponsor tickets carry 3 votes, friend/family tickets 2 votes. Kids tickets don't include votes.
How to participate
Cooking a pot? Here's exactly how the competition works.
Anyone can enter — you don't need to be a chef, and there is no single "correct" recipe. Bring the borsch you actually make at home, tell everyone what's in it, and let the room vote.
- 01
Cook your borsch at home and bring it with you. Any style is welcome — vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free, or anything that fits your own dietary needs.
- 02
Bring 8–20 regular portions. The more you bring, the more guests get to taste (and vote for) your borsch.
- 03
Warm up on site. There is one stove with four burners for reheating, so if you can bring your own electric stove, you can save yourself waiting.
- 04
At 6:00 PM you introduce yourself and your borsch on the microphone — say what's in it and call out any dietary notes or allergens.
- 05
Serve it yourself or let guests self-serve, whichever you prefer. We provide disposable dishes; you're welcome to bring your own serving pot, ladle, or dishes.
- 06
Every participant gets a QR code for their pot. Guests scan it to vote, and you can scan it to see your votes and your borsch description.
- 07
Edit your borsch description before 2:00 PM if you want it printed on your card.
House rules
- Bring extra food or snacks to share if you'd like — just be responsible about allergens, especially around other people's kids.
- We don't serve alcohol. If you bring your own, it's on you to keep it away from the kids.
- No glass anywhere near the pool.
- This is a private gathering. The hosts may ask anyone to leave at any time — if that happens, your ticket is refunded in full.
Tickets are non-profit: they cover place, dishes, and prizes only, with no profit to the organizers. Guests are welcome to sell their own goods or collect for a cause they support; those sales and collections belong to that guest, and the hosts take no share of them.
Dress code: we encourage dressing in traditional clothing — embroidered shirts, folk patterns, anything festive from your own heritage. Entirely optional, always welcome.
Tickets
Reserve your seat NOW!
Please don't wait until tomorrow — the space is limited and may sell out.
Tickets are on sale only until 5:55 PM today.
Limited slots. Bring a pot of borsch. One cook spot per registration — each cook registers separately.
Includes tasting and 3 votes.
A cook's ticket number covers up to 5 free tickets in total; a sponsor's covers up to 3.
Only available with a cook or sponsor ticket in the same cart. Max 5 per cook (3 per sponsor). Includes tasting and 2 votes.
Free for kids (no votes). We collect each child's name at checkout, and a pool-area liability release is required per child.
For sponsors supporting entertainment as agreed with organizers. Includes tasting and 3 votes, plus 3 free guest tickets in total — share your ticket number as the discount code. One sponsor spot per registration.
Your cart
Your cart is empty — add tickets above, then check out once.
Refund policy: No refunds, except that if the organizers ask you to leave, your ticket is refunded in full. Refunds are also given if the event is cancelled by the organizers.
Venue: It's a private apartment clubhouse, so the exact address isn't public. Once the organizers confirm your spot, we email the address to you directly.
Sponsors
We're looking for sponsors for participant gifts — and for a DJ or live musicians.
Small businesses, makers, restaurants — if you can offer a gift, gift card, or product for our cooks, we'd love to hear from you. We're also looking for a DJ, band, musician, or photographer to play the evening and capture the pool-time set.
Memories