4 of 7 – Double Theme!
Part 1: Dinner
UNLIKELY SPREADFELLOWS: a potluck to subvert culinary convention
February 15, 2024
Theme by Alex Mitchell
Over the course of a lifetime, food can become one of those aspects of your life that you take the conventions of for granted. Still, a single dish can remind you that the way we interact with and experience food has as much to do with flavour and texture as it does with presentation and socialization. What happens when we throw tradition out the window and experiment with combinations we’ve never encountered before, or maybe had bizarre experiences with in the past?
PARTICIPANTS:
Alex Mitchell
Audrey Lane Cockett
Geneviève Paré
Kari Brawn & Gary McMillan
Kora-Lee Morris & Collaborator
Caitlind Brown & Wayne Garrett
& many more attendees!
Alex Mitchell prepared a wide variety of experimental foods for Unlikely SpreadFellows, ranging from bone broth with a savoury dill whipping-cream topping, to cigarette-shaped table munchies, to gourmet egg and peanut-butter sandwiches.
Participants contributed other delicacies, including beet and feta bread (Kari Brawn & Gary McMillan), Minty Pear Asian Salad with a Chip & Bacon topping (Genevieve Pare), pickled cocktails (Audrey Lane Cockett), and much more.
Candied pretzels in the shape of cigarette butts
Caitlind & Wayne invited everyone to participate in the Fettucine Waterfall – an overflowing spurt of blue noodles from a 1990s pasta machine – later cooked and served in a pesto sauce.
Kora Morris and their friend reimagined beloved Iranian dish Tahdig, topping it off with pickled corn cornichon and zesty lime.
The evening’s culinary delighted were rounded out by Ketchup cupcakes and an Alex Mitchell original recipe called Spice Cream – a spicy peach habanero ice cream presented after the show.
Part 2: A Show
WRECK AGE: a tale of twenty-something angst during the great Calgary flood
Theme & Performance by Max Maxwell
After dinner, we went down to the basement to watch a special encore performance of Wreck Age by Max Maxwell.
In honour of the ten year anniversary of the Calgary Floods, Max wrote an autobiographical piece exploring his own journey towards finding his identity. We came to know Max during this time, when he was a serial volunteer for WRECK CITY.
In the words of the creator: “Embark on a poignant journey of self-discovery and acceptance with Max Maxwell’s encore production. With raw honesty and vulnerability, Maxwell brings you a coming of age story, as he struggles with identity and belonging set against the backdrop of the Great Calgary Floods of 2013. In this captivating performance, Maxwell seamlessly weaves together personal archival multimedia and music from the era to draw you into the complexities of life, love, and loss amidst the chaos of a natural disaster. With Maxwell’s masterful writing, you’ll be taken on a journey of resilience and hope, drawing you in with his raw emotions and relatable struggles, as you witness firsthand the transformative power of self-love and acceptance.”
The piece was primarily read aloud from a book – like storytime for adults, but with considerably more mature content. The summary of the night was a nostalgic trip down memory lane, in all its shit & glory – from the perspective of adulthood.
Thank you to this week’s participants, to Marco for running sound, and to everyone who tried the Spice Cream!
THE HIBERNATION PROJECT 