Sorry for the double post on the same topic – and thank you Kathleen Maguire – but I couldn’t help myself.
Sometimes, a few people get together and create something amazing. In the last year I got involved with a theater for the first time and saw how a few talented people can create something that will stun and amaze you and take your breath away.
On Sunday night I saw something similar but different. A whole community can came together and, as a group, create something amazing that would take your breath away – The Feast of the Falls. From the start this has been a wonderful undertaking but by all accounts, this year was was the best yet.
What makes it most remarkable is how it happens – the neighborhood makes it happen. From the first year, at it’s core, the Feast has blindly relied on the neighbors of Upper Falls to just make it happen.
That first year, at the last minute, the organizers realized there had been a serious oversight. When the Feast was over and everything had to be disassembled it would be dark. A call when out the night before via email and the next afternoon, the day of the Feast, people streamed over Echo Bridge carrying extensions cords and lights and a mini-NStar was assembled in the afternoon to illuminate the entire stretch of aqueduct that night for the tear-down. That is the essence of the Feast of the Falls.
The Feast of the Falls is a gourmet dinner for 350 people at one beautifully appointed table in Hemlock Gorge. If you live in the neighborhood, it’s free! Because it’s free, the entire neighborhood is there, it’s not just a certain sliver of the neighborhood and that makes it something very special.
But even more special is that the neighbors come out in droves to create it out of whole cloth, which is a good thing, because that’s the only way it could ever happen. Sunday night there were about 75 volunteers in a dozen roles – the kitchen crew at Dunn Gaherins worked all day Saturday slicing, dicing and prepping. The setup crew poured over Echo Bridge yesterday afternoon and started setting up tables, chairs, table cloths, flowers, signs, etc in blistering 90 degree heat. The on site kitchen crew began mid-afternoon cooking and prepping. The 20+ VIP servers arrived later in the afternoon. Some of the regulars Servers, our elected officials, couldn’t make the rain date so they recruited their replacements (Kay Kahn, Marcia Johnson, Susan Albright). The all-important “runner” team arrived. The Hospitality Team set themselves up on the bridge to welcome everybody and check them in. The musicians arrived – Carriage House Violins ensemble and local Newton folks (Crowe’s Pasture). The sound system arrived. The drone pilot arrived! Once the church bells began ringing at 5 PM, thanks to our local pastor, the guests began streaming in over Echo Bridge and everything just started clicking into place.
At this year’s Feast the quality of the food, the mood of the guests, the operation behind the scenes all were the best yet – and all because the neighborhood en-masse made it happen.
My favorite detail was a guy named Patrick who came up and introduced himself at the start. He said he came last year and this year he wanted to help – “give me a job” he said. We sent him off to start up the generator. “Give me another job”. We sent him off to haul heavy stuff the length of the aqueduct. “Give me another job” He walked the length of the table handing out napkins to all the guests. We kept telling him to sit down and eat but no, he just wanted to help.
As dinner ends, it’s getting dark and the guest all leave and there is a mountain of stuff to be hauled out of Hemlock Gorge. By about 10:30, the park is pristine and back to exactly the state it was the day before – and all by the hands of neighborhood volunteers that just get the job done.
Clearly there’s a lot of organization that goes into something like this but for me the best part is the essentially unorganized part. Right from the first year, the event has always been built on a leap of blind faith – we always trust that lots of our Upper Falls neighbors will just show up unannounced and say “give me a job”, and that’s what truly makes it all happen.
Nice article, but there’s one person you omitted to acknowledge…
We’ve attended #feastotfalls since its inception, but could not attend this one, which by all accounts sounds like the best one yet. Feast of the Falls would not happen without your inspiration and dedication – both to this event and Upper Falls in general.
Thank you Jerry, for all that you do. Looking forward to next year’s Feast.
Jerry and team – WOW! We were blown away by the night, the feel, the food, the people, the community! Your impact on our community cannot be overstated. Thank you for including Crowes Pasture on this very special night. And thanks all of you who stuck around and sang with us – it was pure joy! Lots of love,
Monique Byrne and Andy Rogovin (Crowes Pasture, Waiting For Neil and Newton Family Singers)
This just in from the volunteer video production crew …
Very well said Jerry. I saw your new friend Patrick at work at the party, he was happy in his work and I enjoyed reading the backstory. You are correct, it all comes down to trust in the community to come together and share the best one has to give. I think the location calls out for this kind of gathering and it is a blessing that you all heard this call. Jerry, you make the leap of faith easier for all of us to jump in and participate because you have a very steady guiding hand and an intrepid gut! Slainte!
It was a great event thanks to Jerry Reilly’s love of community, his vision and ability to bring everyone together. A special thanks to everyone who participated and to top it off, the food was fantastic! It was an honor to be invited to help out, hope I passed the test and can be a member of the team next year.
Jerry; This is a long overdue note of thanks to you and everyone else in Upper Falls and beyond that made last Sunday’s Feast of the Falls so special for both Joanne and me. You all have added a completely new and exciting dynamic to village life in Newton with this and other things you pull off in the Falls and throughout Newton. It just dawned on me that this is probably the first time there has been night time entertainment at Hemlock Gorge since the old Echo Bridge Park pulled up stakes and moved to Norumbega Park more than a century ago. Did you know that Echo Bridge Park was the first electrified park in America if not the entire world?