In fall, downtown Gulfport's Beach Boulevard will become the center of a new outdoor, fine-dining experience: Gulfport Chefs Table.

Reservations for the inaugural fundraising event, showcasing the Gulfport dining scene and nine local chefs, are open. It is scheduled for 6 to 10 p.m. Oct. 3 and will benefit St. Petersburg's CASA.

Similar to the annual Longest Table hosted in downtown St. Pete, the Chefs Table invites guests to share a four-course meal at 8-foot-long banquet tables that connect end-to-end, creating one long community table down the street. The prix-fixe bills of fare will range from $40 to $80 and feature wine, beer or nonalcoholic options.

What's in store?

A crab sampler from Backfin Blue Cafe; apple onion polenta-stuffed portobello from Mangia Gourmet; O'Maddy's Bar & Grille's French toast beignets; steak and shrimp Oscar by Boca Bay Grille; Southern fried green tomato salad from Isabelle's at the Peninsula Inn; Fish Bar and Grille's ginger-crusted pink snapper; Pia's Trattoria's roasted veal loin; pastichio from Neptune Grill; and smoked spiced rum pears by Smokin' J's Real Texas BBQ. The full menus are available online.

Diners are asked to claim their seats with the restaurant whose lineup they want to nosh on by phone or in person. Payment will be requested at the time of reservation.

To double the amount of donations, funds raised from the event will go to the Sonia Raymund Foundation's matching grant program for the new CASA domestic violence shelter.