As Thanksgiving crept up closer on our calendars and we began to think about our team’s Giving Gathering 2.0 (read about last years here), we were decidedly against cooking, planning and designing the perfect seated meal. Instead, we chose to get out into our local community, support a burgeoning business whose values align just so with our own and simply enjoy a shared meal with The Venue Report family where we could reflect on the past year and not only be full of thanks, but also of giving.
Questions that are staying at the forefronts of our minds include: What worries you? What ignites a spark in you? What can you do to make a positive impact on our future?
We settled on local Carlsbad restaurant, Campfire which is aptly focused on bringing people together to create shared memories around the campfire. Nostalgic decor, bespoke touches and a fire cooked menu all instantly transport you to the camping trips of your past. For our gathering, we left the menu up to the pros and walked in to a surprise, multi-course Thanksgiving meal, camp style. We took over the communal dining space and eagerly sampled unique cocktails out of one-of-a-kind growlers, noshed on the most heavenly crusty bread and let the gathering begin.
What we ate:
- Grilled Bread: prager brothers sourdough, butter, salt
- Roasted Beet: horseradish, lemon, avocado, pistachio
- Kale Salad: apricot, ancient grain, almond, curry, feta
- Campfire Bowl: forbidden black rice, pickle, fried egg, avocado, kale & smoked turkey
- Carmelized Pear & Bleu Cheese Ice Cream
What we drank:
- Aloe black: tequila, aloe vera, violette, cucumer, lemon
- Grizzly folk: bourbon, mulled cider, tamarind syrup, lemon
- Roasted beet: gin, ginger, honey, lemon, thyme
3 courses in and we started to slow down as the sun started to go down as well. Golden light filled the space while we took the lull to write down not only what we are thankful for but how we are giving back and doing more in 2018. The almost unanimous sentiment came back to one word: community. Whether that meant getting to know it, exploring it, or helping it, we want to get out in our local community and also those farther away.
2017 has been a year of unprecedented natural and human disaster. Fires have burned through thousands of properties and acres, displacing equally as many people; hurricanes have leveled islands and taken too many lives along with them; humans have done the inhumane, ending lives with the most unthinkable and evil methods. In light of the darkness that seems to grow ever closer, we focus on community. Rebuilding those that have been broken, reaching out to those that are hurting and strengthening those that are emerging.
Looking into 2018, The Venue Report has pledged to be a platform for change, from local efforts to those on the other side of the world, we are looking at how we can make the world a better place. What can you do to make a positive impact on our future?
