Katie's Farm Aid party goes off without a hitch!

If there is one thing Farm Aid can do (besides advocate for farmers, provide resources for producers and consumers of food, organize an annual concert and distribute grants to organizations around the country that support local food systems…whew!) it’s throw a great party!

The Fresh From The Family Farm Picnic at Equinox Restaurant in Washington, DC this Saturday was a great success.

Nahreen and I arrived in Washington early on Friday morning and went straight to Vanguard Communications (Farm Aid’s public relations company) where Brandi Dobbins showed us to our temporary office. Though it was clean and empty when we arrived, under 2 hours later we had filled it almost to the ceiling with gift bags to be handed out to guests as they arrived.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to pick up the gift bags to bring to Equinox. When we arrived at the restaurant, I was so impressed to see the volunteers already setting up. The place looked great. I was nervous about how everything would go until the first guests arrived. They went straight to the kid’s activity area and started making ice cream (and they weren’t even kids!). It was a hit!

All of Nahreen’s hard work at finding fun things to do had paid off. Everyone loved making ice cream and butter. A chef also came and helped the kids make their own bugs and creatures out of veggies.

As soon as Mercy Creek started playing, I felt even better. The crowd really enjoyed their music and Jim Ball and Cheryl Nystrom (the members of the band) couldn’t have been nicer! I was lucky enough to grab one of their CDs and have been listening to it all day.

Everyone enjoyed the food as well. Before dinner, volunteers carried trays of sausages Todd Gray (Equinox’s owner and chef) had been cooking on the grill. The dishes supplied by the other chefs were delicious, too. I tried to sample a little of everything, though unfortunately I didn’t get to try any of the desserts.

I wanted to talk to everyone that was there to thank them for coming and making the picnic such a success. Volunteers, guests, chefs, Ellen & Todd Gray and everyone else involved, if any of you are reading this and I didn’t get to tell you in person, THANK YOU!!!