Mountain Roots Food Project
Events Committee
1.29.2013
Present: Jonathan Coop, Scott Cline, Holly Conn
Absent: Eric McPhail, Krista Hildebrant, Michele Simpson, Ian Oster
Discussion:
Some are “Good Vibe” Events and others have more money making potential. JC: There is a high value in
generating the ‘good vibe’ in Mountain Roots and keeping our events accessible to the general community,
even if they aren’t big money makers. HC: But we can’t put all our time and energy into planning those
types of events, we need a balance of energy in and both good vibe / money out. Rose wants us to look at
‘return on investment’, and we can’t burn out our people. SC: something that draws people to the town
would be good. Towns are looking for that.
Brainstorming Event Ideas –
GV
Elephant Revivial + potluck – one of the coolest things all year. Can we book ER on our own and
make this annual event?
GV
Taste of Harvest, Gunnison (potluck+band) - worked better in Gunnison this way, not an income
producer but don’t change because it was one of the coolest things all year
Taste of Harvest, CB – worked in CB this way, don’t change it - $1,000
GV
Grow Your Roots, spring – it worked, don’t change it - good to inspire volunteers and kick off
season
$
Wine and/ or Beer Tasting (upscale)
$
Silent Auction + Dinner + Band+ Brewery
$
Iron Chef Outdoors – we provide a secret ingredient, maybe it’s on a camp stove, 1 hr to shop, =
cook off competition
Farm to School Chef Challenge – professional chefs are challenged to create a school meal using
the parameters the school has to follow (i.e. $1.22 per meal, 4 oz protein, 2 oz veg, 2 oz
starch, whatever…) Winners get …something … and school gets new, more delicious
meals
$
Nordic Ski to a cabin for Local Food Meal
GV
Pumpkin Growing Contest – weighed, judged, auctioned off. We sell starts for $5 in spring = entry
to contest
$
Snow Sculpture Competition –model from Breckenridge, start small, both communities. Logistics
and up front costs would involve getting the blocks of snow. Mainly a coordination and marketing
effort.
a) local businesses, small, over 1 week - maybe time it with Christmas tree lighting in Gunni
b) ball field, team entry, over 1 day
GV
Kids create a creature out of a vegetable
$
Martha Stewart Summer Garden Dinner – posh and elegant, Edible Aspen wants to photograph,
jazz quartet, high ticket price. Maybe give this one to Development.
Alpenglow and Sundays at 7 – immediately following the close of these events, we rent the ball
field and have a band and food tent. People are programmed to go on those days to hear music and
eat.
“Local Food Week”
Silent Rave - not sure how this would make money, but it would be fun
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Restaurants add local items to menu all summer – a portion of proceeds go to MR?
Dining Out Event or POS Event – for a certain time period, add $1 for F2S or $1 from every
dinner sold that night goes to “feed the hungry”
“Local Food Walk” – piggyback on First Fridays in Gunnison, just create it in CB. Three to five
participating restaurants would feature a local dish, patrons buy tickets from us and travel around
to try. Restaurants keep $3 we keep $2 per ticket. We help restaurants source local food. Start with
one the first year, then add more until it’s weekly. Can work in CB and Gunnison, stagger the
weeks so people could go to both. Gives people who are here something else to do.
“A Taste Of Gunnison Valley” – this is a festival type destination event in which restaurants enter,
set up a tent, patrons buy tickets and spend most of a day browsing the tents of food options,
sampling, voting. People’s choice award, official judges and winners = prestige for that year for
restaurant. Done in many, many other towns – just need to imitate model. Towns might see this as
a way to bring people into the community. Could time it to coincide with another largish event.
Scott wants to head this up.
$
Other events we should be a part of: (remembering that these take time and energy, too)
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WSCU Spring Symposium – MRFP should have a presence there, do a film and food the night
before
4th of July and Cattleman’s Days – MRFP should be in those parades with overalls and shovels,
things growing in wheelbarrows, and dressed like vegetables
Gunnison Valley Garden Show – we have a table there (April)
Edible Garden Tour – in CB, we were the co-host (August)
Vinotok (Equinox - Sept)
2013
SPRING – Grow Your Roots – volunteer / community based
SUMMER –
1. Taste of Gunnison Valley (big)
2. Local Food Walk
(start small, grow bigger)
FALL – Taste of Harvest volunteer / community based
WINTER - 1. Snow Sculpture Competition
2. Ski to Cabin for Meal
Next Steps for this committee:
1. Recruit more members from outside the board
2. Each committee member should “head up” one event?
3. We need to meet again soon to get into more details
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