Farm to Table serves up food, art and goodwill

Ten thousand dollars was what patrons paid to participate in Farm to Table, held at Orange Hall Estates in St Ann on Sunday, November 6. This is much money by many standards, but it was not so much for the vast array of food and drinks that was there for the taking. It was for charity.

Under the theme of food, art, and goodwill, the event, in its second year, was a fundraiser for the Cecil Boswell Facey (CBF) Foundation, chaired by Stephen Facey, and started in 1984 by Maurice Facey, the son of Cecil, to raise money for the arts, education, and the environment. Cecil Facey provided the seed funds for the Pan-Jamaica Investment Trust Limited.

The now annual event, Farm to Table, raises funds for the three areas of focus, and the proceeds from this year's production go to Boys' Town Infant and Primary School, which is the foundation's institutional partner.

A MODEL SCHOOL

And in speaking with Arts and Education, Brittany Singh Williams, executive director of the foundation, said the foundation wants to transform the Kingston inner-city institution into a model school through a private-public partnership.

One of the foundation's missions is to fund arts programmes in primary schools, where there is little or no public-sector support, according to Williams. "So, what we've done in Orange Hall and Boys' Town is to provide an arts programme," Williams said.

Much of the artwork done by students in this year's summer programme at Orange Hall, in addition to pieces done by Laura Facey-Cooper and others, were on display on Sunday. Some were auctioned. "I think it's fabulous and every child has a story to tell ... and through artwork, that's how they (sometimes) communicate their feelings," was Williams's response when asked to give an impression of the children's work on show.

ARTWORK AUCTIONED

And Arts and Education got the chance to speak with Aljarno Campbell, whose artwork, Radiant Earth, was used as part of the design of the ticket for the event. After his planet earth piece was auctioned for US$140, Campbell was introduced to the gathering by Facey-Cooper, who is the conceptualiser of the event. Campbell, who lives in Union and attends Exchange All-Age School in St Ann, participated in this year's summer programme.

In assessing the outcome of the event, Williams said it was a ''lovely vibe" and that it raised awareness of the plans for Boys' Town and the needs within our education system, "and it shows how art can really bring people together".

For Facey-Cooper, it was "a wonderful day", and she thanked "all the people who have been so generous".