Conner Prairie Releases Prairie Plates-2014 Series of Culinary Events

Take part in a new series of unique dining experiences on Conner Prairie’s picturesque grounds featuring food from some of the region’s top chefs and gourmet food artisans. Tickets are now on sale for select events. See the growing list HERE

Prairie Plates with Joseph Decuis, a farm-to-fork gourmet experience
was Thursday, April 10; 6:30pm-9pm 
Price: $150 per person (tax included)
Purchase tickets online for future Prairie Plates events  or call Guest Services at 317.776.6006

Joseph Decuis Executive Chef and James Beard semi-finalist Aaron Butts, Sommelier Carmen McGee and owners Pete and Alice Eshelman shared a Wagyu beef multi-course dining experience.  Each course was expertly paired with fine wines from the restaurant’s wine list that Wine Spectator recognized as one of the most outstanding restaurant wine lists in the world.  This sit-down dinner was enjoyed in the unique atmosphere provided by Conner Prairie’s Chinese House, rumored to be a Prohibition-era speakeasy.

More events to check out:

Prairie Plates with Chef JJ and his Big Green Bistro pop-up restaurant
Friday, May 2 & Saturday, May 3; 6:30-9pm
Price: $75 per person (tax included)
Purchase tickets online or call Guest Services at 317.776.6006

Experience the culinary talents of Broad Ripple’s Chef JJ and his pop-up restaurant the Big Green Egg Bistro– a locally built traveling trailer inspired by an authentic bistro that blends interactive chefs grilling on the Big Green Egg with locally sourced fresh ingredients. Chef JJ’s modern take on classic American cooking will be served over four courses while seated at long table stretched over the covered bridge leading into Conner Prairie’s 1863 Civil War Journey: Raid on Indiana.

Prairie Plates at Sunset
Thursday, June 19; 6:30pm-9:30pm
Price: $45 per person (tax included)
Purchase tickets online or call Guest Services at 317.776.6006

Take in the exquisite ambience of the Conner Homestead at sunset as you enjoy small plates of meats, cheeses and more from Goose the Market, a selection of ciders and meads from New Day Meadery and desserts from Sugar. After sunset, explore the beauty of the night sky with telescopes provided by Spaceport Indiana. A cash bar will be available for those who prefer other beverages.

All Prairie Plates events are for ages 21 and older.

More events to check out:

Prairie Pursuits

• Forge Welding

March 22, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

$130 and $120/member

Join Conner Prairie’s own expert blacksmith, Nathan Allen, to learn the basics of forge welding in a coal forge. Participants will learn fire control and fluxes, chain link welding, bunch welding and lap welding. Previous blacksmithing experience preferred but not required. All tools and materials will be provided.

• Sausage-Making with L.E. Kincaid & Sons

March 29, 1pm to 4pm

$60 non-members/$55 members

Learn the ins and outs of sausage-making with Dave Rollins, owner of L.E. Kincaid & Sons Meat Market. Guests will grind, mix, stuff and cook several modern and historical recipes. Whoever said “it’s better not to know how sausage is made” never tried this fun and engaging workshop!

• Draw Like Clark, Audubon and Darwin: Flora and Fauna Illustration

April 5, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

$60

The 19^th century was a time of exploration and discovery! William Clark (of Lewis and Clark), John James Audubon and Charles Darwin helped unlock the secrets of the natural world through their journals and sketches of flora and fauna. Indianapolis Art Center instructor Bianca Mandity will lead participants on their own expedition through the historic areas of Conner Prairie. She will show participants how to draw on location using historic, rare animal breeds, local wildlife and plants as their subject matter.

• iPhoneography

April 12, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Oct. 4, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

$72 and $60/member

Join local photographer and iPhoneography expert, Rad A. Drew, in this four-hour workshop where participants will be introduced to the fundamentals of iPhone photography. Explore the possibilities of your phone and learn how to use a host of apps to create remarkable images. Drew will guide those attending through a simple, yet effective approach that allows participants to see what can be done, watch how it’s done and then practice those same skills. After the initial learning session, the group will tour the Conner Prairie grounds and photograph on-site, applying all the newly acquired skills.

• Basket Weaving

April 12, 9 a.m. to noon

$60 and $55/member

Get your artistic juices flowing in Conner Prairie’s textile studio. Learn basic basket weaving techniques by weaving and sewing a simple pin-cushion basket. This is a great class to learn elementary skills in both basket weaving and sewing. All tools and materials included in the cost of the workshop.

• Survival Skills

May 24, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

$60 and $55/member

Channel your inner Bear Grylls or Katniss Everdeen and discover how the wisdom of yesterday’s pioneers can help you survive the wild of today. Learn how to build a shelter, find water, forage for food and make fire in this unique six-hour workshop. This training will keep you from getting voted off any island or help you survive a zombie apocalypse.

• Abstract Landscape Painting with the Indianapolis Art Center

June 7, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

$60 for all guests

Using the stunning landscape of the natural prairie lands as a muse, students will create their own works of abstract art in the style of a famous abstract artist. Examples include: Van Gogh, Soutine, Wolfe Kahn and Fauve. Students will also get a short art history lesson about the artist and the movement they represent with skilled instructor Kerri Ammirata.

• Fun in the Forge

June 7, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

$95 and $90/member

Be a blacksmith for the day! Learn to heat metal in a coal forge and shape it on an anvil. Participants will have the opportunity to complete several simple projects, such as barbeque skewers, a flint and steel fire starter (with instructions on how to use it) and a dinner bell. All tools and materials will be provided.

• Arts and Armsmaking Workshop

Oct. 5-10

Various times and costs

Conner Prairie’s hands-on workshops provide you a rare opportunity to work closely and directly with some of the nation’s best craftsmen. Small class sizes in well-equipped facilities will allow you to develop basic to advanced skills in everything from horn work, engraving, axe forging, leather work, knifesmithing and more. All materials are included in the class price; tools are provided for some classes. For classes, dates, times and cost, please visit www.connerprairie.org.

More Prairie Plates events and Prairie Pursuits classes will be added to the schedule in the future, including a progressive dinner through 1836 Prairietown with Neal Brown, chef restaurateur and owner of Libertine Liquor Bar and Pizzology, and a whole-hog butchering workshop with Chris Eley from Goose the Market.