Thank You for Taking Part in our Harvest Dinner!
“It was a magical evening full of the goodness of community building on the land. And such delicious food, drink, and company.” - Harvest Dinner guest Jane Cox
We couldn’t agree more. To be able to welcome over 100 guests to our farm for a spectacular outdoor dining experience—complete with Betty-Bob the Cow—curated by one of the best chefs in the Triangle (if not the South) is a special privilege. It’s truly an event that is by the community and for the community. The kind of event that makes everyone involved feel a sense of pride that we live in a place where people can come together on a cool fall night under starry skies to eat unbelievable food grown on the very plot of land beneath their feet, or on local farms just a few miles away.
The best part? We raised more than $20,000 for Raleigh City Farm, funding that will support our mission to grown urban farms and farm entrepreneurs to strengthen sustainable, healthy food systems.
Even Betty-Bob can’t wipe the smile off of her face.We have so many people to thank for their support in making Harvest Dinner a success. Chef Teddy, you devised a feast for our eyes and our palates. It’s not often that a meal can be described as both whimsical and refined, but the courses you created for our guests were just that. This was sophisticated food, playfully crafted. Kudos to our rockstar chef and his team!
To our host sponsors, Easter Maynard and John Parker: we are thrilled and honored to have had your leadership support for another year. We consider you our BFFs (Best Friends of the Farm). So much gratitude is also due to our corporate sponsors, Logan’s Garden Shop, Smith Anderson, and JDavis Architects. Thanks to you, sponsorship support for this event was double (double!) that of last year.
Additional thanks to our event partners, Wine Authorities, Fullsteam Brewery, and William & Company, who provided our guests with a little buzz beyond that of our resident honeybees; Piedmont Picnic Project, who dressed our tables with foraged farm foliage; Petals String Duo, who set the musical mood of the evening; and Compost Now, who made our green event even greener. We were also lucky enough to have a fantastic group of volunteers, who tackled whatever tasks we threw at them wholeheartedly and with grace. To our standout auctioneer Billy Brewer, we had high expectations for you and you exceeded them!
This event would not have been what it was without our all-star board members, Harvest Dinner planning committee, and farm team. Raleigh City Farm is a labor of love for these folks, and much of that labor happens behind the scenes. We’d like to draw their hard work into the spotlight here, and to say thank you for all that you do.And finally, to all of our guests: we hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did. We love being a part of your community on a daily basis, and serving as your hosts for this memorable night.
We’d like to think it was us who chased Hurricane Matthew out of town just in time to make way for a perfect fall evening. He didn’t stand a chance against our rain dances (performed in darkness without electricity while bailing water out of our basements.) With a lot of planning, a little luck, and some help from our farm friends, we had a spectacular night.
Until next year…