Unique menu benefits Sumter Green

Fall Feast features all-you-can-eat local favorites

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Thursday night brings the most eclectic menu available in Sumter to Nettles Building and grounds at University of South Carolina Sumter. When Sumter Green Fall Feast sets up for the one-night-only event, friends and neighbors gather to socialize, eat some foods not normally accessible to most people and listen to a variety of live music from the local band Bad Water.

From 6 to 8:30 p.m. attendees will be able to eat anything from barbecue, shrimp and chicken wings to rattlesnake, alligator and frog legs.

Lynn Kennedy, chairwoman for Fall Feast, said the event is Sumter Green’s biggest fundraiser, and “It always sells out.” All proceeds support the nonprofit organization’s projects that help make and keep Sumter green and beautiful.

“We plant and maintain seven green spaces,” Kennedy said. “We have to pay around $40,000 for water, lights, flowers and plants and landscaping each year. We also have some special projects each year,” all aimed at enhancing and preserving Sumter’s environment.

Guests at Fall Feast may not always realize the good they’re doing with their ticket purchases. The price for admission “goes so far toward that goal,” Kennedy said, “as they enjoy all they can eat of some of the best food around.”

She said there will be around 30 food vendors on the grounds of the Nettles Building and at least 25 inside. Food will be prepared by restaurants, caterers and non-professional locals known for their cooking prowess.

Among those cooking for Fall Feast are the team of Dale Atkinson, Kelly Jackson and Jamie Campbell from the City of Sumter, Willie Sue’s restaurant, Logan’s Roadhouse, Catering for All Occasions, Baker’s Sweets, Piggly Wiggly, Southern Fried Catering, Magnolia Manor, Sonic, Danny’s Trophy Shop, Sawgrass Electric, Kristen Morgan, Carnivore Butcher & Bottle, Sharon Thomas, Second Mill Restaurant,Sertoma, Sumter Police Department, Savor the Flavor, Clemson Extension, Charles Bostic, Jonathan Teseniar, Eddie Kennedy, Young Professionals of Sumter, Jonathan Flinchum, Chick-Fil-A, and more. Mid Carolina Distributors and Mac’s Spirits will provide beer and wine, and the City of Sumter will have water.

Volunteers from SAFE Federal will be on hand to assist guests.

Among the dishes on the menu are fried oysters, brisket, “swamp beans,” catfish and hushpuppies, chili, duck, funnel cakes and a wide variety of desserts.

“Almost all of the food is donated,” Kennedy said, “ and we’re fortunate to have several sponsors who donate funds to help cover the costs.”

Signature sponsor, she said, is FTC, and major sponsors include Palmetto Health Tuomey and Thompson Construction.

Sumter Green Fall Feast is an adults-only event. Tickets are on sale now at the Swan Lake Visitors Center, 822 W. Liberty St. (payment by cash or credit card) and Carnivore Butcher & Bottle, 651 Bultman Drive (cash or check) for $35 in advance or $45 at the door, if any are left.

For more information about Sumter Green, visit the website www.sumtergreen.org. The nonprofit also accepts donations at: Sumter Green Inc., P.O. Box 1449, Sumter, SC 29151.