It was all about food, wine and friends at The Community Library, which held its third annual "Our Moveable Feast" literary-themed spring benefit on Sunday, March 11. The increasingly popular event featured delectable dishes from an array of restaurants and caterers within and around Ketchum as well as a variety of wine and spirits donated by several valley wineries, distributors and shops.
"It's nice that we are hosting the best party in town," said Colleen Daly, executive director of The Community Library in Ketchum. "It's a laid-back event that everyone looks forward to attending."
More than 440 people attended this year's event, which exceeded the library's expectations. "We are not finished tallying the numbers, but we did better than last year all the way around," said Ann Scales, chair of "Our Moveable Feast." "It was the third year and our greatest year yet."
Beyond the $100 donation, the event allowed library patrons to mingle and get to know the library board and staff members who were almost all in attendance.
Guests were immediately greeted by "A Room with a View," a handsome display of Italian market fare of cheeses, meats, olives and breads. In addition, there was a lavish table of dips and spreads catered by Ciro's market, which featured risotto cakes with sun-dried tomato sauce.
Patrons flowed into the "Zorba the Greek" room, where large white umbrellas created a Mediterranean ambiance with plentiful plates of stuffed grape leaves and platters of humus to nibble from.
As part of the fare in the "Wild Swans" room, Rick Lum prepared a Thai bison salad made with palm sugar and bison meat. In addition, Omlay's Jicama rolls with Nanprink sauce were just one of the savory treats Omlay's offered among the pad Thai and pork balls.
Guests strolled down the library stacks to "Charlotte's Webb," where bales of hay lined the hall to the dessert room in the children's library, which featured chocolate treats and cookies made in shapes of spiders and pigs.
At the center of the evening's activities was a lavish and very crowded silent auction, which filled the lecture room of the library to capacity featuring a bar and music accompaniment by R.L. Rowsey. There were more than a hundred items to bid on, from prints and paintings to dinners and vacations to Mexico and much more.
"The thing that is so wonderful about this event is that everyone gets to talk to each other and see their next door neighbor," said Norma Douglas, chair of the board directors for the library. "You didn't just write a check to donate money, you enriched your life."
It was a bidding frenzy at The Community Library?s ?Our Moveable Feast? silent auction Sunday. Photo by Willy Cook
