STEPH DEROSA: HARVEST FEAST >>>

The Tacoma Farmers Market has done it again. Harvest Feast is just in its first year of conception, and already they’ve sold out above and beyond. As I spoke to Laura Edwards, one-girl-show of Harvest Feast, she sounded surprised that things had gone so well for a first-year event. I gave her the cliché “Oh, no Laura. Build it and they will come.” And that’s exactly what the Tacoma Farmers Market did.

This Saturday the Tacoma Farmers Market, along with local farmers and chefs, come together for a feast of the ages to be held at Terry’s Berries. There will be no tent for the elegant yet casually dressed dinner guests to hide under. Being out on the farm, under the stars, and focusing on the farmland is what Laura Edwards of the Harvest Feast wants the main focus to be. Team beautiful scenery with local musicians and poets â€" and you have yourself a remarkable evening for all to savor.

Charlie McManus of Primo Grill will prepare a pit roasting pig (a locally raised, very happy pig), and serve up side dishes that will amaze the feast’s guest to no end. Local farmers have donated large quantities of fresh vegetables, and this city’s finest chefs have joined forces in order to create an extraordinary spread of delicacies. Guests can expect to see the culinary likes of Over the Moon Cafe, Maria’s Tamales, Masa, Pinwheel/Herban Café, Gateway to India, Woody’s on the water, Hotel Murano, and Brix 25- all of whom have donated their time and materials to this weekend’s event.
With a national assembly of non-profit “Chef’s Collaborative” already in place, Tacoma Farmers Market has started their own chapter, respectfully named “South Sound Chef’s Collaborative.”

Harvest Feast has been created in order to support this brand new entity, and hopefully raise not only funds, but also community support. Edwards credits Chef Charlie McManus with playing a key role in making this event happen.

[Terry’s Berries, 5-9 p.m., $75, 4520 River Road, Tacoma, 253.922.1604]