The Gray Mockingbird Community Garden will host its quarterly Local Foods/Local Gardens Harvest Festival on Sunday, Feb. 16 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The public is invited.
The garden’s community partner, Urban Growers Community Farm, has put together a broad range of local producers to demonstrate creative ways of growing sustainable foods. Live musicians, locally brewed beer, a petting zoo and food products sourced from local farms will be featured. The vendor stations, solely dedicated to food and gardens, open at 11 a.m.
Working closely with the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple, Brian Kirsch and his team of volunteers will salute an art project for their destination garden. A mural of hand-painted tile will be unveiled and dedicated by Lake Worth Mayor Pam Triolo at 1 p.m. State Sen. Jeff Clemens and County Commissioner Shelley Vana will also be in attendance.
Special guest chef Penny Lewis, based in Abergavenny, Wales, and a frequent demonstrator at the world-famous Abergavenny Food Festival, will appear at the celebration for the first time. Including the royal family as her culinary customers, Lewis also cooks at a significant number of “stately homes” throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. Demonstrating her in-demand kitchen techniques, with her enthusiasm for locally sourced food, Lewis will share royal tidbits as she prepares four courses “Fit for a Queen.” To register for the $20 Penny Lewis demonstration, visit www.graymockingbird.com.
Ramping up the menu of events is the garden’s first “Top Local Chef-in-Training Competition.” Culinary students will vie for the title by preparing foods with locally grown and sourced product before a team of celebrity judges.
The Gray Mockingbird Garden offers 10 to 15 percent of its harvest to halfway houses, shelters and food banks, in an effort to assist in feeding the hungry of Palm Beach County. It also supplies food to local restaurants, helping to provide funds for the upkeep of the grounds while serving to build public awareness about eating locally. Garden members can get a small plot for their own garden project, and classes are available in gardening techniques.
The garden is located at 2000 North D Street, on the premises of the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple, in Lake Worth. For more info., call Brian Kirsch at (561) 246-0148 or visit www.graymockingbird.com.
In addition to Lewis’s demonstration on Feb. 16, she will be offering small class demonstrations at 6 p.m. on Feb. 17, 18 and 20, for $25, where she will feature instruction on four courses, including a dining experience and a booklet of recipes. To learn more, call (561) 506-6994 or e-mail jann@jannseal.com.
