A Party for the Ages
Friends,
As promised, here is my re-cap of the Garden Party — our major community outreach event of the summer…
This past Sunday, a group of dedicated Haverford Garden Initiative students teamed up with Dining Services (headed by the indomitable John Francone) to throw the largest event of the summer at HCA. With the Saturday date rained out by an incredibly ferocious and persistent rainstorm, my partners and I gathered bright and early (10 AM on a Sunday!) to prepare the event.
In the span of just one hour, we turned our humble garden plot into the epicenter of a huge barbecue cookout. Tables and trashcans were arrayed in a loose, concave semi-circle in front of the garden. Two huge grills were stationed just behind the line of the tables. And the garden, in all of its July glory with leafy green shoots and tomato reds, shone out behind.
To offer up the food, we formed a powerful food service line. Our cool and refreshing salads were displayed on the right flank. Potato/Green Bean salad joined forces with a crisp, Green Salad and Watermelon slices to form the side-dish company. To their left, our first grilling squadron briskly prepared corn cobs, eggplant, and summer squash over the gold-vermillion coals of the charcoal grill. To their left, a few friends and I manned the meat outpost. Delicate baby back ribs and spicy turkey sausage sizzled away relentlessly, grilled on one side by the heat of the coals and on the other by that of the sun. Last but not least, my fellow co-head spearheaded the publicity campaign by organizing a vegetable raffle and garden tours.
And then the swarm of hungry students arrived. Flowing from all directions, students converged in strength, eager to sample our garden feast and to learn about our organization. For a full three hours, we indefatigably refilled the warming dishes with our wares, all the while enjoying the hot summer day.
As the 2 o’clock mark crept forward, however, the crowd thinned and thinned until it was just us, the HGI crew. In a flash, we cleaned up the HCA Green, took a few group photos, and ran off to watch the World Cup Final – and the heart-wrenching defeat of my favorite team: the Oranje (who else could do this and walk away with a yellow yard???).
All in all, the party was a huge success and the crowd left full (of information and good food). Take a look at some of the following pictures – they tell the story far better than I ever could.
Yours truly,
Andrew
P.S. A HUGE thanks to the Dining Center and the Committee on Environmental Responsibility, both of whom made this event a reality!
July 18th, 2010 at 10:54 am
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