Today, the famed dinner series that made it cool to eat at a long table on a farm, is finally coming to Charlotte for the first time. I first learned about Outstanding in the Field six years ago when I was editing an article by a woman who had attended one of the open-air feasts in Fairview, NC. I immediately decided that one day I was going to find a way to attend this crazy expensive, gorgeous rustic farm dinner series—that always almost immediately sells out.

The article’s author had heard about the series from “her friend Page.”And so at some point along the way, I was smart enough to also befriend said Page (life advice: always make friends with people who love food). So when tickets for today’s dinner went on sale last spring, Page was kind enough to include me in a group invite to come along and scooped them up before they sold out. And so, this afternoon, as Hurricane Matthew spins its way through the Carolinas, we’ll be pulling on our wellies, eating a rainy dinner on a farm, and checking this one off the bucket list.