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1920s Speakeasy Dance Party to benefit local food pantry

3 mins read
Sherry and Doug Walrath, in 1920s attire.

FARMINGTON – On Saturday, Nov. 3, the Homestead Kitchen, Bar and Bakery will recreate the Prohibition Era with the second annual Speakeasy Dance Party, benefiting the Farmington Care and Share Food Closet.

Just slip down the alley, give the doorman the password (“Joe sent me”) and a can of food (for the food closet) and enter through the restaurant’s back door. Special speakeasy fare and Prohibition-era cocktails will be offered on the menu, with dinner served from 5 – 9 p.m. The restaurant will be decorated to look like the Roaring Twenties. Servers will be dressed in flapper attire.

The party begins at 7 p.m. with smooth 1920’s jazz from the South Strong Road Crew and Friends — Doug Walrath on keyboard, Scott Dixon on drums, Andy Buckland on bass, and Sherry Walrath singing fun songs of the era. The regulars will be joined by Mel Tukey, Maine’s premier jazz trumpet player and Peter Lord of the famous Bellamy Jazz band on soprano sax. In between sets Sherry Walrath will teach the Charleston and Peabody dances to those who want to learn the fast and fun dances of the era.

Tickets are $15 per person, with sales going toward the food closet. As an added bonus, Franklin Savings Bank has agreed to match ticket sales up to $1,500, with resident Rebecca Ryder will match them up to $500. If 100 tickets are sold, these matches have the potential to raise $3,500 for the food closet. The food closet’s ability to purchase food at a discount will triple the value of $3,500 in cash donations. It will enable the Food Closet to purchase $10,000 worth of food.

The need to help less fortunate families in our area put food on their tables is greater than ever this year. The food closet is serving 150 families more each month than a year ago — a total of 700 families each month. Hannaford’s Stores recent donation of $3,000 worth of canned goods and staples was wonderful. It helps a lot. But the need is huge: stretched over 700 families that $3,000 of food will provide less than $5 worth of food for each family for only one month.

1920‘s dress is encouraged, but it is not required. Patrons will enjoy a night filled with dancing, bootlegging-gangsters just keeping ahead of the cops, flappers, gin-sipping (or whatever) and live music at The Homestead’s Speakeasy Dance Party — “where the drinks are cold and the jazz is hot.”

Have an evening of fun and support a good cause. Tickets are available in advance or at the door. Call 778-6162 to make dinner reservations.

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2 Comments

  1. This is a fantastic event!!! Make sure to support the food closet by dancing the night away!!!!!!!!

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