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'Taste of Rappahannock ' is all about community
Final touches for the 11th annual Taste of Rappahannock sponsored by the Headwaters Foundation are coming together, thanks to a year-long planning effort and the support of many in the community.
A limited number of tickets, at $150 per person, are available for the Sept. 6 event at the Belle Meade Schoolhouse in Sperryville. The Taste features delectable dishes made possible through the donation of the finest meats, produce, and culinary artistry by Rappahannock's farms, food specialty shops and restaurants as well as wines from the county. One of the highlights is an auction of unique items.
“It’s all about our community coming together to raise money to help the children of Rappahannock,” said the foundation’s Executive Director Cole Johnson in a recent interview. Her exuberance about the event and her gratitude to the many who make it all happen are evident in her voice.
“The auction, which has been organized this year by Philip Strange as one of the high points of the evening, is just one example of that,” Johnson said.
“Chris Johns, editor-in-chief of National Geographic, is donating his time to conduct a personal tour of the Smithsonian Conservation & Research Center. Johns also donated an original photo of cheetahs and will have dinner with the guests after the tour, “ Johnson said.
Maestro Lorin and Dietlinde Maazel have donated six tickets to a concert by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, after which the maestro will meet with the guests, according to Johnson.
“Local artists have donated original paintings and there’s so much more,” she said. “All of these people come together every year to give their time, energy and treasure to help provide the children of Rappahannock County with many opportunities for high-quality education.”
There are so many others, as Johnson describes—Barney O’Meara, who commutes between Rappahannock County and Toronto, takes an entire week to get the site ready every year. Eve Willis and Donna Marquisee have been working on the decorations since last November, at no cost.
“All of our wonderful underwriters, including Rappahannock National Bank, John Anderson, Battelle, Bill and Linda Dietel and Over Jordan Farm, Griffin Tavern and Restaurant, and our sponsors Margaret and Doug Baumgardner, Susan Hoffman and Mike Biniek and Belle Meade Schoolhouse, Cheri and Martin Woodard and Roy Wheeler Realty help to make this happen,” Johnson said.
The Taste of Rappahannock supports the lion’s share of Headwaters’ operating costs and many of the foundation’s program costs (such as mini-grants and the Starfish Mentoring Program), according to Johnson. Event expenses are low because so many people help.
Rappahannock County High School’s culinary students, under the direction of instructor Mary Arthur, are setting up the tables for this year’s Taste of Rappahannock, as well as making entrees, hors d’oeuvres and desserts. Cheri Woodard and Terri Lehman, as co-chairs of the Taste for the past 10 years, have taken off work the entire week before the event, according to Johnson. “Not to mention countless hours they spend working on it all year long—they are indispensable!”
“People really rise to the occasion…. And then the teachers. All these teachers and the band kids volunteer—everybody comes together, that’s the beautiful thing about it – everybody sees that this is important,” Johnson said.
The food and cooking are donated by local farms and restaurants and by students in the culinary classes and in the Headwaters Farm-to-Table Program, which helps children to become good stewards of the earth while learning to make healthy food choices.
The results of this broad community effort enable Rappahannock youth, who may be the first in their families to attend college, to have the opportunity to attend top universities, at times on full scholarships, according to Johnson. Other positive results include the support of at-risk youth by local community members to help guide them towards a positive view of the future.
“The Taste of Rappahannock also provides extra resources to empower great teachers who want to try innovative programs or benefit from world-class professional development,” she said.
“Through the support of the countless community members who make the Taste of Rappahannock happen, Headwaters is able to have this kind of impact on local education,” Johnson said.
For anyone who has not yet had the opportunity to participate in this uniquely Rappahannock County experience, email your name and address to Cole Johnson at director@headwatersfdn.org or call 987-3322.
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