The University of Mississippi Museum’s board of directors, known as “Friends of the Museum,” hosted its annual Harvest Supper on Thursday, Oct. 15. The event also served as an auction and was held at author William Faulkner’s historic Rowan Oak house, which is part of the museum complex.
The supper is a ticketed annual fundraiser that many Oxford residents attend and is the museum’s largest event of the year. Vintage trolleys picked up guests at the South Lot parking lot, welcoming attendees to a unique dinner experience.
This year, the supper had an all-time record attendance, and many art pieces were auctioned off to raise money for the museum. For the supper’s 15th year, several board members shared their experiences with the event — full of music, drinks and bidding.
Karleen Gardner, the director of the University of Mississippi Museum from Laurel, Miss., only started her position this semester; therefore, many arrangements had to be made in a short time. She shared the struggles of organizing the event in a short timeframe.
“It really took a village to put this together,” Gardner said. “It can be challenging, but when you come out here and see this — all of the nitty-gritty you have to figure out — it’s worth it.”
Gardner also talked about the process of selecting art to display and auction.
“Many (members) of the Friends of the Museum reached out to gallery owners,” Gardner said. “They did a lot of the selection of the art pieces tonight. The local galleries then reached out to their artists and did an amazing job at selecting the pieces.”
William Griffith, who has served as Rowan Oak curator since 1999, fell in love with the South when he moved from central Illinois to Mississippi. He talked about the many highlights of the night.
“My favorite part is when the sun goes down, and everyone is dancing between the trees, and the auction goes in full swing,” Griffith said. “We are not used to seeing this many people at once here at Rowan Oak. There is so much preparation that goes into it, from moving all the furniture outside to getting catering and live music. But at the end, it always looks amazing.”
The chairs underneath the huge magnolia trees, which Faulkner allegedly believed were haunted, created an intimate yet lively atmosphere. The band played New Orleans-style jazz and welcomed attendees into a nostalgic and elevated dinner experience.
“Oxford has so many cool people, and the grounds here are so beautiful,” Casey Lipe, a professional saxophone player from Batesville, Miss., who played at the Harper Supper, said. “I wanted to be part of this celebration.”
Mary Johnson, a retired nurse from Oxford, said this is not the first time she has attended the Harvest Supper.
“These types of events are always so much fun. I always convince my husband to come,” Johnson said. “We are really enjoying ourselves tonight.”
The board’s president, Greenwood, Miss., native Frances Zook, recounted how far the board has come with this event. He also said last year, the event could not be held at Rowan Oak due to inclement weather. Instead, it was held indoors, which prevented the guests from experiencing the magic that hides within the sunset-lit green at the Rowan Oak gardens.
“It gets bigger and better every year, and thankfully, this year, we were able to have it here at Rowan Oak,” Zook said.
Those interested in attending the next Harvest Supper, or other events at Rowan Oak, can visit the Rowan Oak website.
