Okrapalooza brought chefs, music and plenty of okra back to Cope Ranch Sunday, raising approximately $5,000 after expenses for Promise of Peace Gardens.
The Sept. 6 festival marked the 17th year for Okrapalooza, and Promise of Peace founder Elizabeth Dry said the organization tripled the amount raised at last year’s event.
The 17th annual Okrapalooza was held at The Venue at Cope Ranch and featured chefs preparing their own takes on okra, along with live music, children’s activities, a silent auction and other attractions.
Dry said the event went well overall, with improvements in volunteer coordination helping the day run more smoothly.
“The music was great. The chefs were good,” Dry said.
The chefs once again competed for Judges’ Choice and People’s Choice honors.
Private chef Justin Box, who has participated in Okrapalooza for seven years, won the Judges’ Choice award. Newcomer Hugh Stewart took the People’s Choice honor with a dish featuring grits.
Beyond choosing winners, the chef competition managed to change a few opinions about the vegetable at the center of the festival.
Dry said four people approached her separately during the event and told her they disliked okra before attending but changed their minds after trying the chefs’ dishes.
“They love it now,” Dry said.
Dry said working with chefs through Okrapalooza has also changed the way she thinks about familiar foods. Growing up, she said, her family tended to prepare foods the same way each time.
Until she began seeing what chefs could do with a single ingredient, she did not realize how much a few changes could alter a dish.
“You just add this or that and it changes the whole flavor profile,” Dry said.
Dry said putting on the festival comes with significant expenses. The community table featured organic ingredients, and she spent considerable time and money traveling to pick up supplies and donations rather than having them delivered.
The money raised will help Promise of Peace continue its work at Sunshine Acres this fall.
Promise of Peace may broaden its focus to helping develop community gardens and farm-to-school programs elsewhere in Texas.
Dry said a representative connected with Texas agriculture programs attended Okrapalooza and expressed interest in the work Promise of Peace has been doing.
“The main thing is that we’re switching, you know, to fund more community gardens and farms for schools across Texas,” Dry said.
For now, Dry said the results from this year’s Okrapalooza give the organization money to put back into the farm and its work this fall.