Southern Smoke & Summer Celebration (Jul 18th, 2026) (8p-10p)

Southern Smoke & Summer Celebration A Refined Farm to Fire Feast Saturday, July 18, 2026 · Downtown Mantua · Two Seatings

As high summer settles over Downtown Mantua, gather in the garden courtyard for Southern Smoke & Summer Celebration, an evening where Southern tradition meets elevated dining. Every dish is shaped by hardwood embers and the best of the season, and every dollar raised goes directly to support the Mantua Graduating Class of 2026.

The heart of the evening is a whole heritage hog, slow roasted over oak and hickory for hours until the skin turns to crisp crackling and the meat falls tender, then carved to order and presented family style with smoked peach barbecue glaze, bourbon mustard sauce, green tomato chow chow, and pickled seasonal vegetables. Around it comes a true Southern table: braised collard greens with smoked ox tail, cast iron wildflower honey cornbread served warm with cultured butter and honeycomb, fire roasted summer succotash, and wood fired sweet potatoes with a maple chili honey glaze.

|Executive Chef Jynice Hummel opens the meal with smoked pimento gougères and a summer field salad of baby lettuces, pickled peaches, and heirloom tomatoes finished with a sorghum and honey vinaigrette. The feast closes with a blackberry honey butter cake soaked in wildflower honey syrup and crowned with roasted blackberries, honey mascarpone cream, and candied pecans.

A full bar will be open all evening, pouring Golden Gypsy honey wines alongside a selection of other drinks. Beverages are available by the glass, and full bottles may be purchased as well, so you can raise a toast and even take a favorite home.

Seating is limited and offered in two intimate settings. The first seating runs from 6:00 to 8:00 PM and the second from 8:00 to 10:00 PM, with only 40 dinner seats available in each, just 80 in all. Tickets are $100 per guest, and each seating is reserved through its own ticket option, so be sure to choose the time that suits you best before they are gone.

Prefer to simply soak up the summer evening? Lawn and walk up guests are welcome free of charge to enjoy the garden setting and the warmth of the fire, though dinner service is reserved for ticket holders only.

Proudly presented in partnership with the Downtown Mantua Revitalization Corporation, Southern Smoke & Summer Celebration is a benefit dinner with every dollar supporting the Mantua Graduating Class of 2026.

Reserve your seating today at GoldenGypsyHoney.com.