Outdoor Village Feast

A few months ago, I got an email inviting us to the Davis Village Feast – an outdoor feast which raises money for the local farm and gardening educational efforts in local schools. I’ve always wanted to participate in a large outdoor meal a la southern France and what better way to do it than supporting a great local program?

I took my husband with me (recently reinstated as my photographer and “Instagram Husband”) and we had an absolutely delightful afternoon. Besides being my first blogger event up here in northern California, it was also our first social engagement without our little guy!

Davis Village Feast

The afternoon started with wine tasting, nibbles of olives and almonds, and wandering around the tables to check out and make bids on silent auction items. There was everything from a coffee lovers basket of local roasters Chocolate Fish and Temple to a week in Provence! We tried our luck in the raffle drawings and sadly didn’t win anything…

Besides being an outdoor feast, it was also a no waste event, so everyone had to bring their own plates, utensils, linens, and water cups. I absolutely loved everyone’s setups and snapped more than my fair share of others’ setups as well as ours! Scroll down to see some of my favorites…

Village Feast Menu

The menu was comprised of local ingredients and flavors. We started with a scrumptious heirloom tomato salad of which my husband and I could have had three or four servings! Next up was the roasted vegetables with garlic aioli, the white bean salad (yes!!), roasted potatoes, smoked lamb, and then a pear tart for dessert. 

Of course the fresh baguettes were mandatory with each course as was the drizzle (or two) of the Cobram Estate olive oil – bottles of which were on every table! (They were the main sponsor of the event!)

We tried a sip of each of the local wines at the event, but our favorite was certainly the Turkovich Viognier – a new winery and varietal to us!

What to Wear to a Village Feast

We were checking the weather daily last week as rain was initially predicted. Luckily in the end it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon with the sun shining most of the time. I wore my Isabella Oliver Dress (actually a maternity dress also seen here and here), a favorite denim jacket, and my Papillio Sandals. And because there wasn’t much time between our Midtown Farmers Market run and the event, I did my braided bun!

Davis Farm to School + Les Dames

The annual Davis Village Feast is a fundraising event for Davis Farm to School. The program provides farm and garden-based education in the Davis school district. Davis is about fifteen miles west of Sacramento and home to UC Davis (where I earned my PhD). I was super excited to be back in the small town I called home for two years, supporting a cause with which I’m so very in love!!

The event also supported the Sacramento chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier. Les Dames is a philanthropic society supporting women in the culinary world!