“A Feast of Families” Brings Generations, Community, Music & Heritage Foods To The Table
The sounds that resonated recently through Mary Ellen Guest Elementary in Walled Lake were pretty typical for a school cafeteria: the clatter of dishes, students laughing and squabbling, adults talking above the din. Not so typical, however, were the other diners sitting around the large tables, which included parents, grandparents, siblings and senior citizens.
The occasion was the wrap-up of a songwriting residency, called "A Feast of Families," developed by Ann Arbor EMMY-winning songwriter Kitty Donohoe. The program, available to Michigan schools, brings students together with seniors in their community to write songs based on collected oral histories. Each older adult is encouraged to contribute a recipe to the project that in some way reflects their heritage or a past memory.
After four school days spent with the students, writing and polishing their songs, Ms. Donohoe joined the young songwriters to present a celebratory concert attended by student families, seniors and community members. Students sang the new songs and presented the seniors with booklets that contained the songs and recipes. Afterward, all took part in the "feast" portion of the program to share a meal and socialize. Some of the dishes for the dinner were provided by volunteer parents using submitted recipes which, in the case of Mary Ellen Guest, included a large platter of bologna sandwiches on white bread -- the favorite meal of a couple of the men interviewed.
"This has been a fabulous project," said fifth-grade teacher Karrie Martin. "It looks like all of Walled Lake is here tonight. Our entire staff was energized by the residency and our kids have been over the moon. They all love working with Kitty - a 'star' in their eyes - and their connection to the seniors they interviewed has been amazing."
The seniors -- from Grand Court, a senior residential facility in Novi -- were equally enthralled, eagerly anticipating the "feast" portion of the program, when they could hear the songs and spend time with "their" kids again. Several parents commented on the students' excitement about the experience and the value of bringing such community programs into the schools.
Well-known for years for her folk music and story presentations on Michigan and the Great Lakes, Donohoe had been wanting to develop a school residency that would bring her together with students on a more in-depth and intimate level than the assembly format, and the idea of integrating generations with "A Feast of Families" appealed to her.
"I come from a large family and almost every Sunday we would go to my grandparents' place in Detroit and meet up with other relatives and have the typical after-church, big Sunday dinner that lasted well into the evenings," Donohoe said. "In addition to running around with our cousins, we spent time at the table listening to the adults talk and I think it really cemented a sense of family for us, whether it involved teasing or stories. I wanted to recreate that feeling to some degree with 'A Feast of Families' and since food and music are such binding elements of any culture, it makes sense to bring them together."
In 2002 Donohoe received a Michigan EMMY for her original song, "There Are No Words," written on Sept. 11, 2001. The song is part of a documentary film called "A Nation Remembers: The Story of the Pentagon Memorial" that is slated to air on national television in May. In September 2008, she was invited to perform the song during a service held at the unveiling of the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. Her performance can be seen at Youtube.com.
Some of the funding for "A Feast of Families" was provided by a grant from the Mobil Oil Foundation in Walled Lake. For more information about bringing the program to Up North or other communities, visit Kitty's web site, e-mail Donohoe at kitdonohoe@aol.com or call 877-351-2919.
Filed under Heritage Foods • Miscellaneous
