OVERVIEW
The Rio Feast project is a series of regionally foraged and collected community dinners created from a journey beginning at the headwaters of the Rio Grande River, high in the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountains of Southern Colorado continuing through its tributaries in New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico finishing its course at the Gulf of Mexico. An exted performance or journey of gathering, foraging, collecting, cooking and serving wild, farmed, ranched, hunted and wild-crafted food. A sharing of cooking methods, ingredients, recipes, histories, and stories of the Rio Grande Basins peoples, cultures, agriculture, wildlife; culminating in community gatherings along the river basin. An aesthetic adventure yielding a convivial gathering to imbibe the bounty as an ephemeral edible sculpture. A sacrament of local food embodying place and the journey, in which, one takes into one’s body the exquisite gifts provided by the watershed. The intricate web and interconnectedness of water, soil, sun and the inhabitants of the Rio Grande watershed come together. I will seek out farmers, ranchers, cooks, historians, hydrologists, environmentalists, activists, individuals, groups, scientists, artists, hunters, foragers, foresters and biologists. Those with an intimate knowledge and relationship to the Rio Grande will be invited to share the journey and a meal along the way.

IMPLEMENTATION

I will deeply explore the Rio Grande Basin from the Headwaters in Southern Colorado to Socorro, New Mexico. Equipment for execution and documentation of the project: camping, river equipment, fuel, vehicle maintenance. Fabrication – portable commissary. Condiments for cooking. Portable service: tables, benches, dishes, flatware, stemware, linens: cameras, computer, software, art supplies.

DETAILS

Seven Community Dinners, Rio Grande river basin October 2013 through Fall of 2014:
Headwaters, So. Colorado
Wild Rivers, Questa, New Mexico
Taos, New Mexico
Abiquiu, New mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Socorro, New Mexico

Winter 2014 – Winter 2015:
Socorro, New Mexico – Gulf of Mexico

IMPACT

The interdepence and integration of growing, hunting, gathering. Ultimately the preparation of food. Water and land conservations relationship to communities, culture and history along the watershed and tributaries of the Rio Grande. To present an exploration through the bounty and beauty of the land communicates and builds a bridge to a deeper understanding of the essence of place. The Rio Grande river journey will explore a broad cross section of communities that rely on the watershed; contributing stories, experiences, food traditions and concerns for the river’s environment through sharing conviviality and a meal as a living sculpture