2013-07-22 Rural Intelligence

Jul 22 2013

The Good Earth: A Feast From Farm On!

Dale Stewart reports from Copake, NY. Locavore devotees braved the relentless heat on Friday, July 19, for the Farm On! Hootenanny! Love Your Farmer Benefit Dinner; a fundraiser for students to continue studies in agricultural science, hosted on the grounds of the Copake Country Club. The third annual Friends of the Farmer Festival celebrated the region’s earthly goods, with this year’s bounty prepared and served by Fish & Game’s chefs Zak Pelaccio and Jori Jayne Emde. FarmOn! brainchild, Tessa Edick, pictured left with musician Lukas Nelson and fashion designer John Varvatos, praised area farmers for their “tireless devotion to putting out food on our table.” The soup-to-nuts feast, served in heaping family-style portions, encouraged guests to rub elbows with a farmer, posted at every table. After a silent and live auction, the night concluded with a screening of Nelson and Sons, a short by Varvatos for his fall advertising campaign, and Vanishing of the Bees, narrated by Ellen Page.

Kyle Reed, Carl Fischer, Darin Johnson, Andrew Urankar, and Matthew Kelleher.

Berkshire Property’s Jen Harvey with Ethan Culleton and Kate McCormick; Jennifer Ose-MacDonald and Jake Samascott.

CLC’s Heidi Bock with Chatham Brewing’s Tom Crowell and Jake Cunningham: Lea Nichols and Kat Dunn.

Alec Barrett with his parents New York State Representative Didi Barrett and attorney David Barrett.

Marc Berger and Lottie Oakley; Mica and Betsy Buder.

Nicole Rae, Dale Mauri, and Marina Baraskay; Doug Lyon with artist Vincent Mazeau and Marc Bruck.

Fish & Game’s Mike Rice, Aaron Enfield, Alex Van Allen, and Justin Burns.

Farm ON! founder, Tessa Edick with NBA’s Eric Williams and Joyce Varvatos; Michelle Kopec and farmer Ted Dobson.