Contact: Julia Courtright
Phone: (414)429-5091
Tickets now on sale for the Fly Fishing, Foraging & Barrels of Bourbon Pre-Dinner Event
NEWBURG, WI JULY 25TH, 2014: Are you looking for a fun night out that combines your love of the great outdoors with a fabulous, locally sourced game dinner? Please consider joining the board of directors, volunteers and members of Riveredge Nature Center on Saturday August 16th, 2014 at 6:30 pm for the annual Riveredge Farm Dinner. The dinner, located in the Riveredge sanctuary, is a night of fun with farmers, foodies, and conservationists.
A pre-dinner event will take place at 5pm on the Milwaukee River and will include Madison-based Old Sugar Distillery, music by Frog Water, and a few casts in the river with expert fly fisherman Jerry Kiesow. Teetotalers may enjoy Lee Olson’s tea tasting of Indian Herbal Teas made from Native Plants found at Riveredge.
The man in the kitchen at The Wisconsin Game Farm Dinner will be Executive Chef James Jens, personal chef and food educator. Jens is owner of ‘Dinners with Class,’ he brings over a decade of culinary experience to the table, and is experienced in working with local farmers and heirloom ingredients. “In my mind,” says Jens, “what makes this event especially fun is the inclusion of edible invasive plants that we will use in a variety of innovative appetizers.” Foraged Garlic Mustard and Nettle that were growing wild on the Riveredge Nature Center preserve will be made into a delicious pesto and risotto.
The dinner menu will feature in-season native Wisconsin herbs and produce—grown at The Organic Farm at Riveredge and sourced from local Wisconsin farms–as well as, Hunter’s Pate, Rushing Water’s Rainbow Trout, Pheasant, Wild Rice Pudding, Purple Door Whiskey Ice Cream, and Beer from Milwaukee’s Brenner Brewing.
At last year’s event, local nature center executive directors (ED) competed (for fun –and bragging rights) in a corn husking throw down (Schlitz Audubon, Mequon Nature Preserve, Lac Lawrann, and Urban Ecology Center.) The Directors are coming back this year to compete in a ‘Farm Pond Throw Down’ (waders included.) This year, guests may bid on their favorite executive director. The winning ED takes home the ‘loot’ for their organization.
Riveredge Board Member and committee chairman, Chris Ford, said of the dinner, “This is no rubber chicken fundraiser. This is about the great outdoors and that’s about good fun.” Pre-dinner games include Produce Put-Put, Crayfish Catching, and dry fly fishing.
Ford enthusiastically explained, “The live auction with one-of-a-kind experiences is also the best. I have my eye on the Ultimate Pop-up Farm Dinner: Lake to Fork for 8. Half the winners spend the morning on a Lake Michigan fishing trip, the others harvest produce at Riveredge and join Chef Jens for a cooking class. Then dinner for all in the Riveredge sanctuary with Kyle Cherek, host of Wisconsin Foodie, who will bring the wine.”
Additional items will be released in the weeks up to the event on the Riveredge web site and through social media.
Wisconsin Game Farm Dinner tickets can be purchased by visiting http://riveredgenaturecenter.org/ or by calling 262-375-2715. Corporate sponsorship opportunities are still available please contact Julia Courtright, Director of Development and Marketing Riveredge Nature Center for more information at Julia@Riveredge.us
