Feast, Philly Style

In July, I attended Philadelphia's version of Feast. It's called Philly Stake. The model is the same, but they do things a little differently than we've been doing them at Feast Mass. For one, it was outdoors, in a beautiful historic estate on Schuylkill River called Bartram's Gardens. The audience was nestled into a hillside, with the presenters at the bottom center, creating a kind of natural amphitheater. Another great idea was that all the presenters, in addition to their two-minute presentations to the crowd, set up science fair-style displays for voters to peruse before getting their food. The menu was delicious handmade tamales with ranchero sauce, black beans and salad. We ate off real plates purchased from local thrift stores, and afterwards, each guest washed his or her own place setting.

There was a trend among the evening's proposals toward gardening, farming and local food growing, though they ran an awesome gamut from letterpress flash cards for kids with autism, to public art bus stop benches, to a Halloween Philly Thriller Dance. The winner was a series of river tours called the Tidal Schuylkill River Project.

It was wonderful to meet our microgrant-supper brethren in Philly: Theresa, Lauren, Kate, and the big, beautiful team that makes Philly Stake happen. More info: phillystake.org.