To the 350 supporters who came to the Farm to Table Dinner last weekend–thank you! The farm was at its absolute, most gorgeous–every flower in bloom, the long row of sunflowers created a beautiful hedge of brown, orange, yellow and green, beyond which you could see the farm and then the Catskills in the distance. Gray light under a slightly cloudy sky kept the air a beautiful temperature. Guests arrived following the same path our students take when they come to the farm to plant, cook, and eat. They passed the chickens, pigs, sheep, and our new addition from the animal kingdom–two llamas.
Hors d’oeuvres and drinks were passed by students from our Questar program, in their chef coats in the field house. Lovely music floated through the air while friends chatted and tasted their way through the Learning Garden. The dinner bell rang as the sun was setting and guests wandered up to the tent where long tables were set with lovely linens, farm flowers in mason jars, and an appetizer of Roasted Zucchini Blossom Flatbread. Liz Neumark welcomed the guests with thanks and invited people to start eating the simple, elegant dishes created by the Great Performances culinary team, such as Grilled Goffle Farm Chicken, Char-Grilled Peach Salad, and two special dishes prepared by Sylvia Center students.
Bringing such a dinner to the open fields without electricity and running water always has its amusing glitches and the flickering lights caused by the thirsty generators added a bit of thrill to live auction. The moments of darkness reminded us all that, yes, in fact, we were in the country. Nevertheless, the event brought in even more than last year’s meal and we’re happy to report that because of everyone’s generosity we will be able to bring over 2,000 students to the farm and again provide full bus scholarships to those who need them most.
Thanks to our ever-growing Sylvia Center family for believing in the importance of healthy food for all, and to the amazing volunteers who made the dinner so beautiful and fun. If you weren’t able to make it this year, we hope that you’ll join us next year. Please enjoy the many photos of the event below and listen to the special sound piece, depicting a day at the farm with The Sylvia Center at Katchkie Farm.
P.S. We are happy to report that almost all the leftover food from the dinner was received by Joseph’s House and Shelter in Troy! And remaining flower bouquets were happily received by patients at Barnwell Nursing Home & Rehabilitation Center in Valatie.
Flower Sponsor
Judith R. & Alan H. Fishman
Trudy Elbaum Gottesman & Robert Gottesman
Renée Iacone & Steve Clearman
Leaf Sponsor
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Douglas Durst
Cindy & David Edelson
Nina Freedman & Michael Rosenbaum
Dorian Goldman & Marvin Israelow
Steven Harris & Lucien Rees-Roberts
Liz Neumark & Chaim Wachsberger
Root Tickets
Sherrell Andrews & Rob Kuhbach
Jean Hamilton & Rick McCarthy
Matter Unlimited
Donna Moylan
Amy & Curt Middleton
Donors
Farrow & Ball
In Pursuit of Tea
Skip Lievsay
Beth Linskey
Chef Albert Lovelace
Lover’s Leap Farm
Lee Salevan
Caleb Townsend
Thank You to the GREAT PERFORMANCES culinary team for this delicious dinner!
Special Thanks
Farmer Bob Walker & the Katchkie Farm Team
Jim Colvin
Andy King
Kristy King
Terri Lee
Emily Schreiber
Josh Tierney & the Design Team
Terri Lee
The Perfect Ten Students
The Questar Students
And thank you to all of our dinner volunteers from the Great Performances family and the Columbia County community for your hard work and passionate support.
Dinner Co-Chairs
Judith R. & Alan H. Fishman
Debbie & Ralph Gardner
Steven Harris & Lucien Rees-Roberts
Renée Iacone & Steve Clearman
Liz Neumark & Chaim Wachsberger
Dinner Committee Members
Rob Arango & Gary Stefanick
Peter Aschkenasy
John Banta & Daniel O’Donnell
Didi & David Barrett
Jennifer Baum
Sebastian Beckwith
Elliot Berkowitz & Kelly Schunk
David & Betsy Berliner
Scott Berrie
Myra & Charles Biblowit
Mark Chaikowski
Warren & Lenny Collins
Cindy & David Edelson
Sheldon Evans & Martha McMaster
Nina Freedman & Michael Rosenbaum
Ben Giardullo
Trudy Elbaum Gottesman & Robert Gottesman
Judy Grunberg
Jean Hamilton & Rick McCarthy
John Hannam
Nicholas Haylett & Timothy Husband
Jacob Israelow & Tanushri Kumar
Beth Linskey & Charlie Brennan
Michelle Lovelace & Lloyd Zimett
Dean Martinus
Stephen Metcalf & Koethi Zan
Dodi Meyer, MD
Amy & Curt Middleton
Howland Murphy
Michael Pollack & Barbara Marcus
Ruth Reichl
Steve Rosenberg
Paul Shechtman & Bonnie Yochelson
Nina Simmons
