In case you haven’t heard, the Contemporary is in the midst of a Homegrown Summer, a season of St. Louis art, food, music, and conversation. To kick off the season, the Contemporary partnered with the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts for Art/Food on June 5. The event featured a variety of local culinary experts, urban farmers, beekeepers, and urban farmers. The Garage Brewers Society came stocked with over 20 different varieties of home brews for the public to sample. A crowd favorite was the watermelon wheat beer, which possessed the slight aroma of the summer fruit mixed with the fresh flavor of the popular grain.

The beer was as cold as the day was hot. Earthways Center took advantage and harnessed the power of the sun with a solar powered s’mores oven. Meanwhile, the Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association offered visitors samples of local honey. Each honey possessed a different color and unique flavor depending upon the season it was produced. The summer honey has the lightest color, while the winter honey appeared to be dark amber. The spring honey had a subtle floral taste that was iconic of the blossoming season it was produced in.

Over $800 was donated to Saint Louis University Campus Kitchen, a non-profit student service program that provides nourishing meals to those in need.  Plus the public in exchange for admission into the event donated over $200 worth of oil, flour, and vinegar. The donated products are basic cooking ingredients utilized by the kitchen to create the meals. In addition to all that, leftover food from the event was donated to the kitchen to help feed the hungry in St. Louis. Through the power of food, the community really came together, not only to eat, have a fun an afternoon, and explore two exhibitions, but also to help others in the process.

Make sure to attend the next program, Concerts in the Courtyard on Thursday, June 24 which will feature 4 local musical groups.