Beacon Education will once again bring big-name celebrities to the Port City for its 2023 culinary chef festivities on February 9 and 10.

The annual event, now in its eighth year, is designed to raise money to support Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington (GLOW).

Emeril Lagasse will return for a fourth time to headline a full schedule of events. Joining him will be three-time Emmy winner Rachael Ray. A staple in the culinary world, Ray hosts the daily syndicated show that bears her name as well 30 Minute Meals on the Food Network. Ray’s attendance will likely add a new flavor to an already well-attended and popular event.

Past celebrity chef appearances include Giada DeLaurentiis, Guy Fieri, Tyler Florence, Robert Irvine and Ashley Christensen.

The event-packed festivities will include a limited seating dinner as well as a gourmet breakfast and a four-course luncheon. The celebrity chef events will support GLOW Academy, the only single-gender charter school in North Carolina.   

In addition to GLOW, the event will also support Beacon Education’s new mission, Spark Academy.

The foundation is expanding its educational footprint by embarking on a new journey beginning next year, with plans to open a new childcare center by the summer. The school will be the first of several planned early childhood centers and will provide educational programming for children from newborns to pre-kindergarten age. Current plans will also cap the size at 150 students and will have a community health care clinic on-site.