On Sunday, May 19 all are invited to join in a Slow Food Foothills aka “Slow Polk’s,” fund raiser at Overmountain Vineyards & Winery from 4-8 p.m. Come for an evening of local wine, seasonal food and Americana music.

Tickets for the event are available on Brown Paper Tickets (www.brownpapertickets.com). Overmountain Vineyards & Winery (www. overmountainvineyards. com) is nestled at the gateway of the Blue Ridge Parkway on 75 beautiful acres. Originally a tobacco and cotton farm in the 1920s and 30s, the land was purchased in the early 1990s, and has now returned to its roots. Overmountain Vineyards was established in 2002 as a commercial vineyard in the foothills of North Carolina. They are recognized as one of North Carolina’s signature vineyards and wineries.

Stone Soup Restaurant (www. stonesouplandrum.com) is also located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and owned by Suzanne Strickland. Strickland named the restaurant after the fairy tale story of a community coming together. She thought it was a perfect name for a restaurant that she hoped would become a gathering place for the community. Stone Soup will cater the May fundraiser with a seasonal, casual buffet highlighting local food.

Gigi Dover (www.gigidover. com) and her band, The Big Love, will provide the entertainment. The Big Love is primarily the creative partnership of singer/ songwriter and guitarist Dover and multi-instrumentalist/magician Eric Lovell, whose bag of tricks includes vocals, guitar, pedal steel, sitar, tambura, melodica, ukulele, mandolin and even a glockenspiel. Together they weave a dreamy, quirky path that trips through styles, sounds and genres. It’s a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll and a whole lot of groovy, soulful and funky fun. Their new CD is expected to be released on April 20. Our media sponsor is WNCW (www.wncw.org) – our local public radio station.

In 2011, WNCW was voted Best Local Radio Station of WNC. The station was also put into the Hall of Fame for the consecutive years it has been given this great recognition. In addition, a silent auction will be on site. For more information about S l o w F o o d Foothills, contact me at caroljackson@ tds.net or Mindy Wiener at mindywiener@gmail.com.

Proposed menu, which will change slightly based on local harvest selection, includes:
Appetizer: Local lamb ribs from Camp Creek Farm in Saluda.
Buffet: Slow roasted pork butt with sauce, summer succotash, watermelon, tomato salad with feta and mint, mixed cabbage slaw with arugula and a light citrus honey vinaigrette, macaroni and cheese with fresh herbs and baby spinach, black eye pea salad with sweet potato, goat cheese crumbles and a sweet and spicy vinaigrette.
Dessert: Brownies, cookies, lemon cake (all house made), baked goods basket. Refreshments: Iced tea, fresh mint and lemonade. Overmountain wines and BottleTree Blonde beer can be purchased.

Evening schedule:
4-5 p.m.: Wine tasting, wine tours, silent auction and exhibition areas.
5 -6:30 p.m. Opening music by Cole Pellatt, a PCHS senior and Vocal Impressions Honors Tenor and the PCHS Percussion and Sax ensemble.
5-5:30 p.m.: Appetizers.
5:30-6:30 p.m.: Dinner buffet service.
6:30-7:30 p.m.: Gigi Dover & The Big Love.
7:30-7:45 p.m.: Slow Food announcements, Silent Auction conclusion.
7:45-8 p.m.: Gigi encore

Tickets can be purchased at Overmountain and at La Bouteille. Also, online tickets are available at www.brownpapertickets.com.