Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, Making Merry, by Laura Cassidy, photo by Elke Van de Velde, November 2007
"Fellowship of the Ring
YOU ARE an urban forager. YOUR FRIENDS ARE earthy old souls of all ages. YOU WANT THEM TO FEEL at home and cozy, but completely carried away. SO YOU CALL Cori Ready and Aviva Palmer, the party planners at the Adventure School, who in turn enlist Boat Street Kitchen catering. YOUR DREAM TEAM DREAMS UP a family-style feast including whole picnic hams braised with onions, roasted game hens with pepper jelly, mushroom-and-oyster deep-dish pie, and corn pudding. Fore dessert: Dark gingerbread with lemon glaze and whipped cream. TO TRANSFORM YOUR HOME into a hidden forest wonderland, the Adventure School brings in wreaths, tiny trees, and a carnivorous plant from Swansons Nursery, and silver goblets, French carafes, and white birdcages filled with pinecones from Lucca Great Finds. In place of a tablecloth, Ready and Palmer borrow moss from suburban forests and cover the dining table; a mix of formal place settings and whimsical name cards completes the fair-tale-in-finery mood. STARTING AND OLD-TIME JAM SESSION, Ready and Palmer introduce the Tallboys, a rollicking, revivalist string band. Wee ones string cranberries and clap along. TIP: Get and early start; a late-afternoon affair gives kiddies time to tire out so the older folks can enjoy some specially spiced cider."