Exhange Place Living History Farm: Sassafras Supper

Exchange Place Living History Farm is very proud to announce a unique and brand-new event, the Sassafras Supper. Scheduled for 5:30 pm on Friday, September 22, it will spotlight and support our exciting Junior Apprentice program, and will feature a delicious and creative farm-to-table supper created by local chef Nathan Brand, a keynote talk by award-winning cookbook author Sheri Castle, and traditional Appalachian music performed by Katie Hoffman. Unlike other Exchange Place events, the Sassafras Supper will be held off-site – it will be at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 161 East Ravine Road in Kingsport.
People who know food know Sheri Castle. She has published numerous cookbooks, and her The New Southern Garden Cookbook was selected as the 2012 Cookbook of the Year by the Southern Independent Booksellers Association. She is also a former Senior Food Editor for Southern Living magazine. In addition to her talk at the Sassafras Supper, Ms. Castle will also be giving a couple of short talks at Exchange Place’s annual Fall Folk Arts Festival on Sunday, September 24. Scheduled for 1:00 pm and 3:30 pm, each will cover a different topic and will contain opportunities for questions from the crowd. Ms. Castle will also be available at select times during the Festival (still to be determined) for those who want to meet and talk with her, or purchase a book and have her sign it.
People who know food are learning more and more about Nathan Brand. He has cooked at many fine restaurants across the United States and abroad, and is currently working on bringing his special brand of locally focused, ingredient-driven, no-waste cooking to Northeast Tennessee.
Of course, Katie Hoffman is well-known in Appalachia. The founder and owner of Appalworks.com, she is a singer and scholar of traditional Appalachian ballads and a singer/songwriter with a CD to her credit, Beautiful Day. The co-chair of the 2003 Appalachian section of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the traditional music producer for a 4-part PBS series entitled Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People, Katie has also studied regional foodways and worked for years on local food initiatives in Appalachia.
Also at the event, volunteers from Exchange Place will be on hand to talk about the site and the Junior Apprentice program, which unites young people, ages 12 through 18, with a passion for history and community service. As a non-profit, volunteer-run living history farm that interprets antebellum life in rural Northeast Tennessee, Exchange Place is the perfect place for the Junior Apprentices to hone their skills and knowledge by attending workshops and engaging with the public at events and festivals.
Tickets for the Sassafras Supper are $100. Each ticketholder also receives a one-day free pass to Exchange Place’s Fall Folk Arts Festival (good for either Saturday, September 23 or Sunday, September 24). All profits will go to the Exchange Place Junior Apprentice program. Tickets may be purchased online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sassafras-supper-tickets-36196669212, or by visiting the Exchange Place website – exchangeplace.info. More information can be obtained by calling Exchange Place at 423-288-6071.