One of our favorite programs hosted by New Rhodes, Louisiana was a
cook-off competition called "How Men Cook". Organizers invited men to
show off their special BBQ, wild game and tailgating recipes in a
festival like setting in front of the host museum. They had music,
broadcast the LSU/Auburn (big rival and an away game) game on a large
screen TV, sold tickets and ended up making a nice profit on the
event--Enough so that they are now turning it into an annual fundraiser.
Men who initially turned down the invitation to participate were some of
the first ones to sign up for next year because not only did they feel
left out from a very successful activity but were not about to be "shown
up" by some of the other guys in the community. Men can be very
competitive (shocking, I know), and it was a great way to bring in an
audience that (in Louisiana at least) has a tendency to sit on the
sidelines during programming. Organizers put together a cookbook of all
the submitted recipes and had it available for the duration of the
exhibit. 

A local exhibit utilized by several of our host sites was created by the
LSU textile department/museum called "Feed Sack Fashions". The exhibit
included examples of clothing created through the use of feed
sacks--some had prints that were used to make patterned dresses or
shirts (apparently certain sacks had certain patterns and a collection
of several of these sacks was needed to make one dress...) or they were
dyed or bleached a certain color--Very interesting and apparently a
common practice across the U.S.

I would be happy to supply more details on either of these two
activities for those interested. 
Thanks,
Erin
 

Erin Regan MacInnes
Assistant Director
1.800.909.7990 x131 (in Louisiana)
504.523.4352 x131
504.529.2358 (fax)
[log in to unmask]
www.leh.org
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum on Main Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Davis, Robbie
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 7:28 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Key Ingredients - community events

T.J.,
 
I'm sure that other host states will come along with some good stuff and
I'll let them share the details, but a few KI events/programs that stand
out to me are:
 
1)       West Chicago, Illinois - Stirring Up History cookbook that
combined recipes from different cultural groups in the community with
stories from each group on preserving their culture within their
families - very interesting. The cookbook ended up receiving a
certificate of commendation from the American Assoc. for State and Local
History awards program.
 
2)       Webb City, Missouri - Every elementary school student in the
Webb City school district visited Key Ingredients and participated in a
program on setting tables and table manners.
 
3)       Minnesota - the Minnesota Humanities Commission sponsored the
work of Charlie Maguire, a Twin Cities-based musician and educator, as
he travels around to host communities. He works with 4th graders to
teach them how to make songs on local food traditions and then has the
students perform in an assembly. Charlie even wrote a Key Ingredients
theme song.
 
4)       Companion exhibitions with statewide partners - The Michigan
council and the Michigan State University Museum and the Montana council
and the Montana Historical Society partnered to create complementary
state-specific exhibitions to accompany KI. After the exhibition's run
in Montana, the photographic exhibition was opened for bookings to other
organizations.
 
Lots of communities have done really fun, creative programs. In Butler,
Missouri, KI was hosted by an organization that has a living history
farm. They did a number of great food programs. In Benham, Kentucky, the
local host also created an oral history program to record histories from
eastern Kentucky coal mining communities. In Brainerd, Minnesota, the
local host was an arts center that did a cookbook on food by color.
 
Everyone jump in, I know I'm leaving tons out . . .
 
Thanks,
RD
 
Robbie Davis
Project Director
Museum on Main Street
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES)
P.O. Box 37012 MRC 941
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Telephone: 202-633-5335
Fax: 202-633-5344
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
 
For Deliveries:
SITES/MoMS
470 L'Enfant Plaza East, SW
Suite 7103, MRC 941
Washington, DC 20024
________________________________

From: Museum on Main Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Theresa J. Wallace
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2007 9:43 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Key Ingredients - community events
 
Hello,
 
One of our South Carolina sites would like examples of very successful
community events that have happened in previous Key Ingredients tours.
If one of your KI communities hosted an interesting or unique event that
worked particularly well, please let me know about it.
 
Thank you!
 
Best,
T.J.
 
Theresa J. Wallace (T.J.)
Grants and Program Officer
The Humanities Council SC
P.O. Box 5287, Columbia, SC 29250
803-771-2477 (P)
803-771-2487 (F)
www.schumanities.org