The line for CREATE Boston runs out the door and down the block. Hundreds of people are desperate to get in to the hottest collaborative event of the summer. Inside looks something like an urban gallery crossed with a gourmet restaurant. Six booths are set up around the concrete exhibition space. Each area features a collection of artwork and then food and drink inspired by the series. Guests float from table to table holding tiny mixed drinks and sampling fare. Artists talk to fans about their work while offering the best price on the displayed pieces. Light beats waft from the DJ booth. The result is an event so hip the building should be wearing aviators.

In one corner giant wooden buffalo heads by the !ND!V!DUALS are mounted on a wall. A group of chefs from Asta stand in front slicing up a pig’s head and doling it out to eager foodies. Around the corner is a stand of lemonade to quench your thirst. Guests take their food and stroll out to the waterside patio, where rapper Moe Pop is performing.

Louis DiBaccari, founder of Tavern Road, is responsible for creating the event that appeals to foodies, art lovers, and cocktail connoisseurs alike. DiBaccari started the event three years ago with the goal of showing off the next generation of great Boston artists, visual and culinary. “It’s really a melting pot for all the senses,” he says. DiBaccari seeks out the hottest artistic, musical, and gastronomic talent in the business to create the teams for the event. In addition to advertising the great food around the city, CREATE gives up-and-coming artists a chance to sell their work. “If you’re any kind of an art collector, you should get a hold of this talent before it blows up,” says DiBaccari.

Once the groups are made the collaborators meet to discuss the visual artwork and plan a menu. Sometimes they meet up to thirty days in advance to fine-tune the perfect multi-sensory experience. The chefs in the !ND!V!DUALS group went all out, painting their faces to look dirty, wearing leaves in their hair and brandishing machetes. The result was a warrior-tribe vibe that meshed perfectly with the ferocious buffalo heads and delectable pig head victuals.

The food choices varied drastically from booth to booth. Chef Jason Cheek of Sam’s At Louis served squid ink congee while Tavern Road had a table dishing out lamb tacos. The art too was an eclectic mix. Moe Pop shared a collection of his punchy, urban self-portraits while Natasha Moustache displayed her travel photography on coasters. The event gives emerging creatives of all types an opportunity to network and sell to an audience they might not otherwise reach.

Let CREATE be a lesson to those who complain that Boston doesn’t host enough events. The city is a thriving hub of creative collaboration, and thanks to Louis DiBaccari, emerging artisans of all kinds have a yearly opportunity to knock your socks off.

Photos by Coco Knudson.