It Takes A Village
February 4, 2008
Who in their right mind would light up a grill out on a frozen lake with 50 other people in the middle of a snowstorm? Why, it’s funny you should ask that, because that is exactly what we did on Saturday.
Photo courtesy of Jeffrey A. Greene.
A former instructor and current friend of mine, Tom Barry, suggested to me a few months ago that he had this idea, to get as many people as he could to gather together with their old school 22.5 inch Weber charcoal grills and form a peace sign on frozen Lake Wingra, fire up those grills and have a cookout, and then donate all the leftovers to a local food pantry at which he volunteers. He wanted it to be a similar concept to those 5K-10K run/walks that are held all the time for charity, participants would pay $25 to get a spot in the peace sign, which would be donated to Savory Sunday, they would all get a t-shirt, a photograph of the event, and the honor of participating.
Photo courtesy of Jeffrey A. Greene.
He managed to get Weber to sponsor the event and donate a gigantic gas grill to raffle off, local EVP coffee donated coffee and hot chocolate, and a giant tree trimmer was there to take aerial photos of the event. 43 people signed up prior to the event, and a few more people showed up unregistered to participate on the day. Shortly before we left the house, it started to snow, so we were all out there in the cold, blowing Wisconsin weather, getting all wet and snowy, arranging our grills in the universal symbol of peace, to help out our community.
Photo courtesy of Jeffrey A. Greene.
Tom, walking around with snow freezing in his moustache, in a giant fur hat that made him look like he was some kind of Russian hunter, said something that resonated with me. That the homeless are always cold, and bringing this group of people out on a day like Saturday, in a situation that they wouldn’t normally put themselves in, seems appropriate to illustrate the needs of the homeless.
“The weather makes the connection between standing outside, freezing our butts off, and what it’s like for the homeless to be cold and hungry.” - Tom Barry
I say, who better than Wisconsinites to start such a tradition, we who love to gather in freezing cold temperatures, and eat bratwurst.
Photo courtesy of Jeffrey A. Greene.
Even though it was cold and I had to walk to the reptile house of the zoo to warm up for 20 minutes, it was pretty darn fun. We grilled our elk burgers and s’moritos {a concoction of peanut butter, chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows wrapped in a small flour tortilla and grilled until melty and delicious. I thought we had invented it, as far as we knew, but now, don’t rightly remember}, chatted with some people, oohed and aahed over the avocado green Weber circa 1972, shivered and danced to stay warm, and marveled at what other people brought to grill including bread, ribs, crazy chicken concoctions, vegetarian things, and ancho pepper rubbed chicken thighs stuffed in a poblano pepper then wrapped in bacon. I wish I had tried one of those. One of our Grillin 4 Peace neighbors in the peace sign mentioned at one point, “I’m not going to give away anything that I wouldn’t eat myself,” as he flipped a grill full of awesome sounding teriyaki-something-something chicken.
This was the first time this event has taken place, Tom hopes to make it an annual event, and that next year it will be bigger. I hope to participate every year, and next year, we’ll need to bring something even more creative to grill.
Here are the Capital Times article and the Wisconsin State Journal article about Grillin 4 Peace.
My name is Tracy Harris. 
February 4, 2008 at 10:05 pm
what a truly inspired idea. I love it - good for you for braving the weather and being a part of change.
February 4, 2008 at 10:09 pm
oh, and I’m totally ripping off the s’moritos. But I’ll always give you credit.
February 4, 2008 at 10:18 pm
wow. what a great event to be a part of. kudos.
and grilled bread??? i can smell its’ divinity from hear.
February 4, 2008 at 11:20 pm
That is so cool. I love the photos and I’m sure the shelter loved the grilled food. Your smoritos sounds delicious.
February 5, 2008 at 3:34 am
Ha! Love it!! What a fabulous thing to take part in
February 5, 2008 at 4:03 am
oh my gosh. you only see these kind of things in magazines. or newspapers. that is so great. the reason behind it. the fun. and the photos.
February 5, 2008 at 7:21 am
So great!
February 5, 2008 at 7:55 am
Third picture down, the closer up one. The people with the blue sled and blue grill, lifting the cover…that’s us.
We were the only people there with a blue grill.
February 5, 2008 at 8:37 am
i don’t think i could love this any more. not one iota more. brilliant. and beautiful. and moving. and wonderful. how wonderful. (and smoritos, that’s pretty brilliant, too!)
February 5, 2008 at 9:07 am
How fun! Looks cold out there! And I love the sounds of those smore-thingys.
February 5, 2008 at 11:45 am
to continue the mail: New England… and add Wisconsin. The photos give me the shivers. Your friend should try to make art from it. Picture postcard book sold on Etsy and the benefits go to the homeless or some such things. I’d be the first to buy.
February 5, 2008 at 11:46 am
That’s awesome, thanks for posting pictures! Looks like it was a ton of fun
February 5, 2008 at 12:25 pm
This is fantastic! Such creative and inspired way to do good, I just love it. The photos are like the icing on the cake. Good for you guys and all the others who participated in this great event!
February 5, 2008 at 12:47 pm
wow! this screams progressive midwest, don’t you think? the grill, the brats, the community coming together for the cause; and all on the ice in the middle of a snow storm, of course. perfect.
February 5, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Oh my Gosh, that looks so cool. That was really a great idea. I wish we could do that here. I love it….
February 5, 2008 at 9:44 pm
wow, this is one of the most inspirational and lovely stories i have heard/read in a long time.
February 6, 2008 at 10:42 am
Very cool ideal. Very cool photos!
February 13, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Oh, hurray for Madison! I love that. I still remember, growing up, when some students build a sinking Statue of Liberty on Lake Mendota. It was sooo great! Just the memory makes me long for home even more than I already am…
February 15, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Hi Tracy,
I found your site through another blog and am really enjoying it. I’m also a graphic designer (and photographer) and am really inspired by your site. And as much as I am not a fan of massive snow, I could see getting into the camaraderie of the “It takes a village” event. That was just too awesome for words…almost makes me want to move to Wisconsin and meld in with your group. What a great idea and a great group of people to hang out with. If you don’t mind, I’d like to put your link on my blog. Cheers!