Overcoming weather, Rowan chapter satisfies the hungry

The Rowan County KFTC Chapter held its annual fundraiser at the Old Time Music Festival at Jaycee Farm in Morehead on July 29 and 30. This was the seventh year the chapter had worked the festival.

No longer the sole food vendor, the chapter worked to differentiate itself by offering a Kentucky Proud menu. The hamburgers and hot dogs were from Chop Shop, a local meat store that gave the chapter a good deal on its excellent products. Corn was purchased from the local farmers market. The admittedly limited beverage menu included the “Kentucky Original” Ale-8-One (diet and regular) and water.

The most popular items on the menu – the fried taters, soup beans and corn bread, and the vegetarian black bean burritos with homemade salsa – were prepared by chapter leaders. Various members brought brownies, cookies and muffins for sale. Through its food offerings, the Rowan County chapter demonstrated that KFTC is an organization of the Commonwealth for the Commonwealth.

The weather presented some interesting challenges for chapter members and festival-goers. While chapter members were able to dodge most of the rain during an early set-up, they could not dry out the sodden ground or render borrowed canopies more weather resistant. Occasional downpours created muddy impasses around portions of the tents, and humidity levels appeared to rise after each burst of precipitation.

At one point Saturday night, both patrons and chapter members were industriously removing the water that was rapidly pooling on canopies that were often moments away from collapse. Thankfully, everyone survived the deluge unscathed.

Despite setbacks, the chapter easily met its annual chapter fundraising goal. Members hope for better weather at their next fundraising event, the Storytelling Festival in September.