Taste of Time at the Levine Museum

Since 1997, the Levine Museum of the New South has held its Taste of the New South fundraiser each spring, but this year’s event will be called Taste of Time in honor of the museum’s 20th anniversary. The celebration is happening next Thursday (April 28th) from 6 to 9 p.m. and will include a debut of an updated and expanded Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers exhibit, as well as a menu featuring a blend of Southern dishes and new cuisine.

The menu alone would make this worth the ticket with Southern-slanted options such as southern fried chicken, miniature ham biscuits, and skewered watermelon with cheese and fig reduction. Or, for those looking for a more exotic taste, there will be Vietnamese basil rolls, Indian masala lamb chops, and Mexican shrimp tacos, among other offerings. Plus, a Cuban mojito bar will offer traditional, melon, and raspberry mojitos for sipping as you enjoy local performing artists including dancers, singers, and violinists.

However—and this is something you won’t read often on this blog—the most exciting part of the night may not actually be the food. There are several  impressive prizes that will be auctioned off or won in a raffle over the course of the evening. Raffle prizes include weekend packages at places like The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, Pinehurst, and The Cloister, as well as travel vouchers from US Airways. And for the serious food and wine lover, a package to The Inn a Blackberry Farm will be auctioned off. The package includes a three night stay in one of the inn’s cottages, as well as dinner with wine importer Eric Solomon prepared by Sam Beall at his private residence at Blackberry Farm and featuring wines from Soloman as well as Beall’s personal cellar. 

Tickets to Taste of Time are $100 for members and $125 for non members. Raffle tickets are $25 each or $100 for five. (You can purchase raffle tickets in advance and don’t have to be present to win.) For more info, visit museumofthenewsouth.org.