Like to eat?  Like to eat locally?  Like to eat locally outside?  Picture yourself on a summer night on the Vineyard. A soft breeze rolls in from the ocean, as twilight approaches the sky, a blend of pinks, purples and blues, casts a glow around the meadows.  Under a white canvas tent tables laden with locally grown greens and produce beckon you to feast on their goodness. 

Pulling out all the stops
This year on July 19th, The FARM Institute is pulling out all the stops to celebrate eight years of reconnecting children and adults to the land, animals and each other.   Indulge in priceless auction items, eat locally grown food prepared by some of the Island’s best chefs and dance your boots off toThe Cattle Drivers and The Sultans of Swing.  

Island auctioneer celebrity Trippy Barnes will be taking the reins of the live and silent auction that includes art work from Rez Williams, Allan Whiting, Ray Ellis and many more that have generously donated their work depicting scenes from The FARM and the Island.  One of the many live auctions items that will be offered this year is for the winner and three friends to join a 10-year veteran player and teacher from The MIT Blackjack Team for an evening of in-depth blackjack instruction!  This is the MIT blackjack team recently featured in the hit movie “21” , History Channel’s documentary “Breaking Vegas” and the book “Bringing Down the House”. 

Bring your appetite!
Throughout the evening there will be plenty of food to sustain your soul.  From sushi to oysters to chocolate fountains to smoked tomato Martinis and everything in between - your appetite will be more then satisfied!  This year’s event will feature a “Grazing Dinner Menu” where patrons can sample a variety of delicious items from some of the Island’s most renowned chefs.

As always, the menu will offer enticing, locally grown foods, showcasing the best of what Martha's Vineyard offers. In a spirit of collaboration familiar to the FARM, Executive Chef Mark Goldberg of Lure at the Winnetu Oceanside Resort and his team of chefs from Mistral & Teatro Restaurants in Boston and L’Andana Restaurant in Burlington are overseeing the Grazing Dinner.  Numerous other chefs including, Josh Hollinger of the Harbor View, Albert Lattanzi of Lattanzi’s Restaurant, Steven Buckley of Vineyard Gourmet, Kevin Crowell of Détente, Gina Stanley of ArtCliff Diner, Joe daSilva of Lambert’s Cove Inn, Danielle Dominick of the Scottish Bakehouse, Island Food Products and fisherman, Tom Osmers, will be donating their services while Dakota Beef is donating a portion of the organic beef being served.

The FARM Institute
Get the whole family together and explore and navigate your way through the 5-acre corn maze.  Make the maze as hard or easy as you want and have a blast as you, your family and your friends work together to find a way out.  Be sure to say hi to the animals before you leave: the lamb triplets born this spring, and especially Baloo the farm dog and Beau the farm cat who want to make sure you’re having a great time on the Farm.

You can also enjoy The FARM Institute as a family by participating in the many programs offered. Enroll your child now for an experience that teaches them cooperation, respect and responsibility.  Your children will gather eggs, care for the animals, work the gardens and learn the meaning of sustainable agriculture.  Camps run all summer and range in age from 2 and up.  Your child will have the opportunity to be a part of an environment where they can see the work they’ve put in develop into something that is tangible and enjoyable to the whole Island community.  Give your child the gift of self worth and self confidence.