The grand opening of a Smithsonian Institute exhibit, "Key Ingredients: America by Food," will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Pembina County Historical Museum 5 1/2 miles west of Cavalier, N.D., with Tayo Jay Basquiat as keynote speaker.
"Key Ingredients" explains the little known, the everyday, and the obvious through an entertaining and informative overview of our country's diverse regional cooking and eating traditions, a news release said.
It investigates how culture, ethnicity, landscape, and tradition influence foods and flavors we enjoy across the nation. Key Ingredients demonstrates how food on the American table is rooted in centuries of continuous borrowing and sharing between people across generations, across cultures, and across the land.
Keynote speaker Basquiat divides his time between his work as assistant professor of philosophy at Bismarck State College and farming, and also serves as chairman of the North Dakota Humanities Council.
In his third year on the council, he has served on several committees and as a facilitator of various projects. He has participated in a forthcoming documentary as a scholar and contributed work to the NDHC "On Second Thought" publication.
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Saturday's grand opening will feature musical selections, ribbon cutting to the exhibit, tours of 'Key Ingredients' and related local exhibits, and refreshments featuring cookies from the ethnic backgrounds of residents of Pembina County. Those who attend are asked to bring a nonperishable item for the Pembina County Emergency Food Pantry.
The exhibit comes to Pembina County Historical Museum as part of the Smithsonian Institute's Museum on Main Street program which brings quality exhibits to rural communities. The exhibit will continue through Dec. 4.
The museum will be open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. and by arrangement other days for special tours. Groups and individuals are especially encouraged to visit on Thursday afternoons Oct. 27, Nov. 3, Nov. 10 and Nov. 17 for Koffee Klatches -- tours, coffee, and conversation.
Book discussions
Dakota Discussions, three book talks connected with a Smithsonian exhibit coming to the Pembina County Historical Museum, will begin Sunday at the museum. The discussions, led by trained facilitators, will be part of the programming for the "Key Ingredients" exhibit.
There is no cost to attend the book discussions; however, participants are asked to bring a Food Pantry item to each discussion. Here's a list of book discussion information.
- Sunday, 2 p.m.: "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." Barbara Kingsolver writes about a year in her family's life with a narrative that will open your eyes in new ways to the old truth: You are what you eat. Basquiat will lead the discussion.
- Nov. 6, 2 p.m.: "Westhope: Life as a Former Farm Boy." Author Dean Hulse of Fargo grew up on a family farm in rural North Dakota and has seen that way of life threatened by extinction. Hulse will lead the discussion.
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- Dec. 4, 2 p.m.: "The Jungle." Upton Sinclair wrote "The Jungle" in 1906 about the corruption of the American meatpacking industry. Basquiat will lead the discussion.
The books are available through the Cavalier Public Library, the Pembina Public Library, the Walhalla Public Library, and the Pembina County Historical Museum. Books must be returned at the end of the series.
If you go
- What: The opening of the Smithsonian Institute's "Kay Ingredients: America by Food"
- When and where: 2 p.m. Saturday, Pembina County Historical Museum, 51/2 miles west of Cavalier, N.D.
- Speaker: Tayo Jay Basquiat
- Info: (701) 265-4941; pchsm@polarcomm.com
For more information about the exhibit or related events, call (701) 265-4941 or (701) 265-4691 or email pchsm@polarcomm.com .
