Chicago Foodways: Thanksgiving, November 22 @ 10 AM

CHC-Chicago Foodways Roundtable

Thanksgiving:
The Great American Holiday

Presented by
Penelope Bingham

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
10 AM
Kendall College
900 North Branch Street, Chicago
(West of Halsted Street, North of Chicago Avenue)
Free Parking

Cost: $2 per person, free to Kendall students and faculty with ID.


Nine out of ten Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving, and most do so around a family table. Food and tradition are the heart and soul of this most-loved, most-observed holiday. Thanksgiving has become the origin myth of America and the expression of deeply held American cultural ideals. As it considers the evolution of Thanksgiving, from the “First Thanksgiving” in 1621 to the present day, this program invites the audience to think about what this holiday and its food traditions mean for American culture and identity.

Following lifelong passions for books and for cooking, Penelope Bingham began accumulating cookbooks over 40 years ago. Her personal collection of cookbooks now exceeds 2,000 volumes. She is particularly interested in the stories American cookbooks of the last two centuries about American culture and identity. She has given programs on American Cookbooks and Culture to libraries and cultural organizations throughout Illinois as a Road Scholar for the Illinois Humanities Council, as well as in conjunction with the Smithsonian's traveling exhibition, "Key Ingredients: America By Food". She has also addressed the International Association of Culinary Professionals, the Culinary Historians of Chicago, The Wednesday Club of the Newberry Library of Chicago, the Cookware Manufacturers Association, and home economists of Kraft Foods. Her work with American Cookbooks and Culture was recently featured in Chicago Magazine and on WBBM/TV’s “Table For Two”. Since 1990, she has been the volunteer "Cookbook Lady" for the Annual Book Fair of the Newberry Library of Chicago, preparing for sale the thousands of vintage cookbooks that are donated each year. Penelope holds degrees from Wellesley College and the University of Chicago. She is a member of the Culinary Historians of Chicago and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

To reserve, please PM Cathy2, then leave your name, telephone number and the number of people in your party or e-mail to: [email protected]

Hi,

Start Thanksgiving week with a history lesson on the origins of this national holiday.

If you cannot make it to Kendall on Saturday, then there is another chance:

Monday November 24th at 7 PM at the

Highland Park Public Library
Laurel & St. John's Avenues

Courtesy of the Illinois Humanities Council and the Highland Park Historical Society, which I am currently president.

Regards,

WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified partners with Culinary Historians by recording our programs and making them available for broadcast on demand at their website or downloadable to an iPod. A recent program:

Thanksgiving: The Great American Holiday with Penelope Bingham, recorded November 24, 2008.

Thank you for posting, Cathy - I've always regretted missing these, and now have something to catch up on ...