What A Night on the Farm!
Every year our neighbors and friends come together on the farm with a common goal: to support Common Good City Farm while mingling over DC’s finest local food and drinks. This magical night is our annual fundraiser - A Night on the Farm - and this year was yet another fabulous evening. Last Thursday, on a picturesque fall eveningour guests strolled into the farm to the sounds of Pete Muldoon’s soothing jazz tunes and the aroma of our favorite fall produce transformed into tasty bites from neighboring restaurants. As more and more people trickled in, our Youth Interns swooped in to lead groups on an informative tour of our farm. Our guests were impressed by the intern’s knowledge as they weaved through the farm rows and learned of our exciting and plentiful farm programs.
As the tours came to an end and the sun began to set, guests meandered eagerly from station to station to taste the chef’s delicious creations. Stationed near our buzzing beehives, Smoke & Barrel wowed the crowd with Mini Sweet Potato Pecan Oat Burgers paired with a Vegan Chipotle Aioli and Walnut Pesto using our arugula, basil and hot peppers. Further down the row, Dino’s Grotto prepared a fall fan favorite, Butternut Squash Soup, with squash straight from the ground below him. And nestled into our Youth Garden, The Royal served up a flavorful Sweet Potato & Chickpea Salad with Spicy Chili Dressing utilizing farm fresh chard, bell peppers and hot peppers to give the dish a kick. Throughout the night guests reacted with wide eyed excitement upon trying Big Bear Cafe’s (Pig) Head Cheese with Pickled Peppers and Apple Mustard- an inventive dish with fiery hot peppers and okra from the farm. And for the Italian lovers out there, Table was the place to be with their Cavatelli Primavera Antipasta: a house made pasta with veggies tossed in a red wine vinaigrette with heirloom beans. The farm’s basil, parsley, hot peppers, and patty pan squash were featured prominently in this delightful dish. Finally, for a dessert to challenge all desserts, Abu Uqdah, the Young Urban Foodie, prepared show stopping Mini Key Lime Pie Tarts. Suffice it to say, our guests were happy, and so were their stomachs.
As a perfect accompaniment to all the tasty food, Right Proper Brewing Company provided one of their refreshing farmhouse wheat beers, Ornette, which guests sipped on throughout the event. But food, drinks and live music were not the only source of entertainment. Situated in between our vining passion fruit, a raffle table made up of eight fabulous prizes, tempted guests as they browsed the selection. What should they bid their golden tickets on, they pondered? Perhaps a gift certificate to Boundary Stone for a romantic date night. Or maybe the multi-purpose Patagonia adventure set. When it came time to announce raffle winners, our energetic intern, Crystal, drew the names and presented the guests with their prizes.
When the night was coming to an end, the Vice Chair of our Board of Directors, Randy Tyree, gathered the lively crowd together to speak of the impact Common Good City Farm is having in the neighborhood and the exciting future projects we plan to embark on in the upcoming season. We could not have asked for a more perfect night and wonderful people to share it with. Thank you, to our sponsors, donors, and everyone who came out to A Night on the Farm. We hope to see you again next year!
Thank you to the following businesses and individuals for their contribution to our event: SponsorThe Australian Embassy Food Abu Uqdah, Young Urban FoodieBig Bear CafeDino’s GrottoRoyalSmoke & BarrelTable DrinksRight Proper Brewing Company MusicPete Muldoon Raffle ContributorsBeau Thai & BKK CookshopBoundary StoneGood Food MarketsMarcella KriebelPatagoniaThe Australian EmbassyWorld Wildlife Fund