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World "Piece" in Ginter Park : 7th Annual Progressive Dinner
Saturday, October 21, 2017
6:00 PM - 11:00 PM

My mind was wrapped around a completely different theme for this year’s progressive dinner until I recently visited the Hudson Valley.

This area of upstate New York is a mecca of incredible restaurants, rolling hills, beautiful rivers, organic farms, and the birthplace of a cultural revolution. Although I am always on a quest for a great foodie experience, this year I traveled with different intentions to the small town of Woodstock.

Now some of you might be too young to remember Woodstock, and some of you might be giving me the peace sign. This amazing and historic festival (actually held in the town of Bethel, NY) in 1969 brought hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world for a three-day “peace” and music festival. This event represents both then and now, how a community can come together for a common cause.

Half a million people, each bringing a “piece” of their nationality and culture from around the world, co-existed “broke bread”, and made friends amongst strangers for three solid days.

Then it hit me. Music has the power to bring people together in “peace” the same way that food brings people together. So this year’s progressive dinner is more about the theme of “peace” than it is about the “piece” of food. Let’s face it – the 60’s was a time of Hamburger Helper, Franco American spaghetti, and tuna casseroles. Not a food lover’s delight.

With today’s environment it makes perfect sense, to embrace the feeling of community and bringing “peace” back into
the hearts and minds of everyone by breaking our own “piece” of bread within Ginter Park in our own culinary/ foodie version of Woodstock (except for the three day part, of course).

So wear your tie-dyed shirts, dig out your love beads, (I know you have them buried somewhere) and let’s go on a magical carpet ride and bring out our “inner hippies”. Come join me for a wonderful evening celebrating togetherness in our Ginter Park community. Yes, I will be the one with flowers in my hair.

So in preparing this year’s meals, show your unique dish and “peace” offering. Let’s get creative. No tuna casseroles or pot brownies, please.

As you know, planning for this event does not happen overnight. I am recruiting all food lovers to volunteer to host either as an appetizer or dessert house, and I am also in need of salad and entrée hosts.

Interested hippies and food enthusiasts, please contact me at sberv53@gmail.com or 804-387-4383.

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What is a Progressive Dinner?

By Stephanie Berv

It is an evening of fun, good food and conversation. It is a great way to meet some of the wonderful residents who live here in Ginter Park. For those of us who love to cook and bake, it is also a great way to show off our talents.

The evening is organized into four courses which will be held in different locations. So as the evening progresses, you will have an opportunity to meet neighbors and get to know them in their lovely homes. Each attendee will receive an invitation the week before the event to let you know when and where to go.

On the night of the event the evening will begin around 6 p.m. with all the attendees starting out together in one location sampling tasty appetizers. After a short period of time, all of the attendees will disperse into smaller groups of eight or more and will continue the evening by going to our assigned salad house.

After that, we move on to another assigned neighbor’s house for our main entrée course. Here you will meet even more new neighbors. We conclude this lovely evening approximately around 11p.m., but not before we all meet up again (after being well-fed by our gracious hosts) at one main location for coffee and dessert.
So if you are one of those talented individuals who loves to cook and entertain, or if you are looking to participate and volunteer your organizing skills as a committee member, we are in need of many volunteers not only to head up a committee, but also to volunteer to host a salad or entree in your home.

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Volunteers Needed

Contact Stephanie Berv at sberv53@gmail.com or 804-387-4383 A