The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) will host PHeaSt: A Harvest Party 2020, a virtual celebration of good food, gardening, culture, and family, on Friday, November 13, 2020 from 6:30-7:30 pm. Guests will experience a cross-cultural culinary adventure, led by Nathalie Richan – chef/owner of the Fishtown restaurants Suraya and Café La Maude – who will prepare a menu based on her Lebanese grandmother’s traditional recipes she learned while growing up in Beirut.

By purchasing a ticket, attendees will also support PHS’s year-round efforts to create a cleaner, healthier, and more beautiful region through their work to invest in community gardens, plant trees throughout the region, transform vacant land, and beautify our public spaces. The annual event has gone virtual to provide Philadelphians as well as gardeners and foodies around the world the opportunity to learn new recipes from the famed chefs, hear about PHS’s impact in communities, and enjoy a warm and lively evening with a talented chef.

Tickets are $75 and can be purchased at: www.phsonline.org/events/pheast-a-harvest-party. Registrants will receive a link to the virtual event as well as recipes for the evening’s preparations. 

“PHeaSt has always been about celebrating fall with good food, friends, and family, set in a gorgeous PHS garden oasis. Due to COVID-19, our event has gone virtual —allowing everyone to spend time in Nathalie’s beautiful home kitchen being entertained with stories and cooking secrets passed down through the generations,” states Nicole Juday Rhoads, Director of Engagement at PHS.

Growing up in Beirut, Lebanon, Nathalie was influenced by their mother’s and grandmother’s family recipes based on simple and delicious preparations of healthy, fresh food. Guests at PHeaSt will learn how these experiences and influences have been carried across continents, bringing the spirit of Lebanese cuisine and culture to Philadelphia at their rave-reviewed restaurants. PHeaSt will remind us all that the simple pleasures of time spent cooking and eating with family can sustain us in both joyous and challenging times.

Like many regions around the world, Lebanon has recently seen a resurgence in urban food growing as a measure to address food security. This effort is paralleled in Philadelphia with PHS’s recent Harvest 2020 food growing initiative, which since May 2020 has supported 250+ communities throughout the region to grow and share fresh produce with those experiencing food insecurity.

All proceeds from PHeaSt will help PHS continue its support of region-wide gardening activities such as tree planting, transforming vacant lots, and improving and maintaining public landscapes.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, an internationally recognized nonprofit organization founded in 1827, plays an essential role in the vitality of the Philadelphia region by creating healthier living environments, increasing access to fresh food, growing economic opportunity, and building deeper social connections between people. PHS delivers this impact through comprehensive greening and engagement initiatives in more than 250 neighborhoods; an expansive network of public gardens and landscapes; year-round learning experiences; and the nation’s signature gardening event, the Philadelphia Flower Show.