It was a white-out in front of Heifer Village on May 17 as guests of the second Feast in the Field gathered for a dinner, a presentation and an intimate concert by Jason D. Williams.
The night was chaired by Anna Kay Frueauff, who joined Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids (PARK) founder Keith Jackson in welcoming the crowd of about 300, most wearing white. The event generated $80,000 for the nonprofit Heifer International, and will in part be spent on the Arkansas Delta Seeds of Change program. The program encourages and aids small farmers, helping them find markets for their produce and share farming practices, all of which helps small, rural communities grow their own wealth, Heifer promises.
Mayor Larry Owens of Hughes (located halfway between Marianna and Memphis) made the 90-minute trip west for the celebration. Owens is an alumnus of the once-segregated black school there, now closed, which offered the town 2.5 clear acres for a community garden. It's a project Heifer has helped with, and Owens and Heifer Chief Executive Officer Pierre Ferrari expressed their mutual satisfaction.
"We made $800 on it last year," Owens said, "but more importantly, it's a community center where [residents] can eat and exercise and see an investment."
Speaking of locally sourced food, the Feast in the Field menu was designed from such by Ashley's chef Joel Antunes. It included chilled tomato soup with basil pesto, braised beef with spring vegetables, and "Heifer's Strawberry 'Feast in the Field' Forever Ice Cream" made by Loblolly Creamery from fresh-picked strawberries.
Before dinner, guests sampled White River Creamery garlic and chive goat cheese, Greek marinated feta and formage blanc, although, coming as it did from Elkins, it's "local" by way of Interstates 30, 40 and 49.
-- Story and photos by Bobby Ampezzan
High Profile on 06/01/2014