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This fall, Signs of Life in downtown Lawrence is offering a new series in its free Public House weekly community forum entitled, Culinary Culture: Pursuing Excellence and Sustainability from Farm to Plate. Each Monday night at 7:30 pm starting September 11, the series will feature one of our community’s foremost authorities on issues surrounding our pursuit and appreciation for local culinary culture and agriculture. Below is a description of the series:

“Excellence is a God-given virtue of a mature, sustainable, and fruitful culture, and should be pursued in all areas of life. This especially includes humankind’s relationship to the earth and its fruit. The pursuit of excellence has implications for the way we prepare our food and the way we eat, especially in relation to the intimate connection between sustainable, local agriculture and healthy, quality culinary culture. In order to explore these ideas in the context of our community, this fall, Signs of Life is offering a free, weekly lecture series that showcases some of our community’s foremost authorities on excellence in culinary culture.”

Speakers and topics will include:

-Tim O’Brian, founder and cultivator of the St. John’s Organic Parish Garden, on “Culinary Culture and Christian Stewardship”

-PUBLIC DISCUSSION on the deeper meaning of eating

-Sula Teller, Prepared Foods Manager at the Community Mercantile, on Bridging the Gap between Production and Consumption”

-Tom Wheat, president of New Mission Coffee, Inc., on “Thinking Locally in a Supranational Industry: Venezuela Biointesive Coffee Farm” Communities and the American Consumer”

-Caleb Stegall, editor of The New Pantagruel, on “Culinary Politics: Prairie Uprisings and Agricultural Revolts in Kansas History”

-PUBLIC DISCUSSION on the Slow Food movement and the connections between food and community

-Nancy O’Connor, Education Director at the Community Mercantile on how “Culinary Culture Starts at Home: The Social Impact of Family Mealtime”

-Joe Farthing, owner and roaster of J&S Coffee, on “The New Connoisseurship: Specialty Coffee and Tea Industries in the 21st Century”

-Steve Wilson, wine educator and columnist for Lawrence Magazine, on “All Roads Lead to Wine: The Social, Historical, and Gastronomical Implications in a Cup of Wine”

-Katherine Kelly, director of the Growing Growers Training Program on “Small Farm Agri-culture in a Time of Big Farm Agri- business”

-PUBLIC DISCUSSION on gardening as a metaphor for the life of grace

-Hilary Brown, owner of Local Burger, on “Slow Food Fast: Local Burger as the Next Generation of Sustainable Fast Food”

-PUBLIC DISCUSSION on the demise of family farms and what it means for American democracy

So mark you calendars now! Each weekly event is free and open to the public. A flyer featuring the schedule is available at the store, or you can print a copy of it here.

Finally, don’t miss the new “Culinary Culture” book section at the front of the bookstore that features a fascinating selection of books on this topic!

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