Orcas Farm Heritage in the Spotlight at FEAST Dinner this Saturday Night

Summer 2010 FEAST crew. From left, Owen Cheevers, Whitney Hartzell, Conor Pamatian (kneeling) and others

By Owen Cheevers

With the harvest season upon us, the F.E.A.S.T. program is gearing up for its annual fundraising dinner on October 2. This year promises to be a spectacular event; the sunset beach dinner will be held in a warm banquet tent on Brandt’s Beach, provided at no cost by Orcas Events. Appetizers of wood-fired pizza, compliments of Soul Flour, will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by a locally grown meal cooked by Yuriko Bullock & Libi Geddes.

The program name stands for Farm Education And Sustainability for Teens and this year marks the 4th successful year of the F.E.A.S.T. program. As Orcas Island knows well, a sustainable community requires a diversity of skills, creativity, hard work, education, participation, health and fun. With all of these in mind, The F.E.A.S.T. program aims to teach high school students the importance of creating a sustainable, healthy planet. In the process, it has changed lives. Many students have gone on to continue working in the field of sustainability on island and off.

Each summer a group of teens join F.E.A.S.T., earning high school credit as they learn from and work with valuable members of the community. In one summer students learning from over a dozen local community members, farmers, artists, mycologists, biologists, builders and teachers. Subjects covered each summer include bee-keeping, wild crafted medicines, mycology, farming, blacksmithing, woodworking, solar energy, biodynamic farming, composting, permaculture, food preservation, natural building and more.

This not only gives teens a rich, broad understanding of their community, but also supports many farmers and individuals in the community. Many of these skills are vital to be sharing and practicing to create a healthy planet. The greatest tool we have in saving the planet, endangered species, polluted ecosystems, is us, local community groups coming together and taking action.

This will be much more than just an amazing meal of local ingredients in a spectacular setting, but also a celebration of our unique community. Come celebrate with us and learn more about the program.

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at The Chamber of Commerce, Smith and Speed, and Darvill’s, vegetarian tickets also available. Get your tickets early! To get to Brandt’s Beach, use Brandt’s Landing Entrance from North Beach Road, and take a left though the gate just before Smugglers Cove.