History with a Twist

I'm so incredibly happy that I was able to go to this event. I had heard about it some months ago, but because of budget issues I decided against going. I have a big overseas trip coming up, and the $75 ticket price, even though it went directly to the education program at Heritage Village, was just too steep to justify.

I'm lucky to have awesome friends, though, because one of them happened to belong to the Model A Club, and was given comped tickets for bringing her car! She gave me her extra ticket, so I was actually able to attend! I was so excited.

I whipped together a quick dress and headed to Heritage Village after work. When I arrived they had a red carpet with ropes marking off "The Heritage Club", the area on Main Street where they had set up tables and a bandstand where the Singapore Slingers were set up to play. There were cocktail stations set up throughout the town, so we hit the bank first, where they had a watermelon-y pink rum drink. Hors d’oeuvres were being passed around at the beginning of the evening, but they disappeared quickly.

Soon after the gates opened, they held a dance lesson, where we learned the basic steps for the Peabody and the Charleston.

There were cocktail stations set up all through the town. The bank had the pink watermelon drink (I have no idea what it was called), the saloon had a "gin smash", which was minty and refreshing and very delicious. (I've found the recipe online, and really want to try it with basil!) There was a cocktail station on the lawn serving "Mexicanos", a twist on the Americano which the barman described as "rather aggressive", and which bit like a cobra. Not enjoyable. Inside the building with the silent auction items they were serving Old Fashioned-s, which tasted like Christmas. It was quite a show, too, since he burned the orange and lit the orange oils on fire! It's one of those cocktails I'd always heard the name of but never tried, so I was happy to finally have one.

There were heavy hors d’oeuvres stations set up around the fountain at the far end of main street, where we could munch on sliders of all sorts, assorted cheeses, and various things on skewers. Everything was delicious, and I've discovered pastry-wrapped asparagus is amazing. I'm definitely going to be making those for future dinner parties!

I kept meaning to take pictures throughout the evening, but every time I got up and started snapping pictures, someone would ask me to dance! I'm never going to turn down the opportunity to dance, so the camera remained on the table most of the night.

I'm really glad I was able to go to this event. The entire evening was fun and laid back, there was great dancing (I haven't done a foxtrot in years, so it was great fun to stumble through it again!), and the company was grand. There's no way I'm missing it next year, especially since it'll be the 50th anniversary of Heritage Village, so it promises to be spectacular.