Author Lee Nelson will be the featured speaker at the upcoming Project Barnraising fundraiser at Clark Historic Farm.
A new event is on tap for the preservation of the Clark Historic Farm next week, with an evening built around food and storytelling.
The Friends of the Clark Farm will host its first annual Chuck Wagon Gala on Nov. 7 at the Old Grantsville Church to raise funds for the nonprofit’s purchase of the historic farm.
The evening’s activities will start with an hour of snacks and tours of the farm at 4:30 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., there will be a half hour of appetizers at the church before dinner begins at 6 p.m.
Author Lee Nelson, best known for the “Storm Testament” and “Beyond the Veil” series, will be the guest speaker during dinner. Nelson has sold over a million copies of his 35 fiction and nonfiction books.
A Logan native, Nelson incorporates historical research into his novels, which included killing a buffalo while on horseback with a bow and arrow to create an accurate account in a Storm Testament book.
Along with dinner there will be a silent auction, door prizes and live entertainment.
Tickets for the gala are $50, with the proceeds benefiting the Friends of the Clark Farm purchase of the barn and outbuildings at the farm from Grantsville City. Attendees can purchase tickets online at clarkshistoricfarm.org or calling 801-971-0842 by Oct. 31.
Attire for the event is business casual or formal Western dress.
Friends of the Clark Farm president Laurie Hurst said the nonprofit would like to make the gala an annual event. In future years, the event may be held at a different time. This year, it will be held in early November due to the Dec. 11 closing date for the purchase of the farm.
The nonprofit has already raised about 75 percent of the $92,000 purchase price for the outbuildings and two acres of land, Hurst said. The fundraising effort, Project Barnraising, is working toward a $125,000 goal for the entire campaign.
The community has really rallied behind the purchase of the barn, Hurst said. A matching grant from the Tooele County Tourism Board will donate $2 for every $1 donated, up to $55,000.
So far, donations have come in from businesses and individuals in the Grantsville area and the Salt Lake valley.
“We really want this place to belong to the community,” said Friends of the Clark Farm member Susan Johnsen.
The nonprofit is also offering yard signs with “I Helped Raise the Barn!” for a $25 donation and its 110 People Who Care campaign is still underway, which seeks $100 and $1,000 donations for a permanent spot on a plaque at the barn.
Money from presales of the Grantsville Song Cycle CD, which costs $15 and will be available the first week of December, will also go toward the purchase of the farm.
The Friends of the Clark Farm are also looking for donations of in-kind services, like excavation, construction and painting, Hurst said.
“This is everybody’s barn and we want people to feel ownership,” she said.
