Now We're Cookin'!

By Dr. James W. Lark, III

As one who has been a Libertarian activist for nearly 25 years, I have participated in a variety of outreach efforts, both with respect to providing information about Libertarian ideas to those unfamiliar with the term “Libertarian” and to helping heretofore “lone wolf Libertarians” link up with existing Libertarian organizations.

In some cases, these outreach efforts occur at events where the audience is largely representative of the general public, such as Independence Day parades. In others cases, the outreach efforts occur at locations or events where most audience members have a clearly defined enthusiasm or policy position, such as gun shows and taxpayer association meetings.

In recent years I have assisted various organizations (typically, Libertarian Party organizations) in promoting Libertarian ideas at events that feature and celebrate foods and beverages. For many reasons I encourage Libertarian organizations to include such events as part of their recurring outreach efforts.

[Pictured: Dr. Lark (on the right), Ray Hawkins, and Jeff Bowles proudly display the 3rd-place trophy they won for their chili-cookoff entry (more on that event later). Behind the trophy is the Diamond Poster where visitors' scores are plotted when they take the World's Smallest Political Quiz.]

As you may know, there are thousands of food and beverage festivals around the country each year. From the Arkansas Apple Festival (Lincoln, Arkansas) to the Zucchini Festival (Obetz, Ohio), these events draw (in aggregate) millions of people each year. For towns such as Gilroy, California (the Garlic Festival) and Hatch, New Mexico (the Hatch Chile Fest), the annual food festival is the town’s main claim to fame.

For me, libertarian outreach at food and beverage festivals is a labor of love. Cooking is a passion of mine, and I am proud of my reputation as a good cook. (I frequently serve as chef at Libertarian dinner events.) I am also a beer enthusiast and home brewer. My Libertarian Party friends consider it appropriate that the award for most effective LP activist I received at the 2004 LP national convention is named the Sam Adams award.

Conducting Libertarian outreach at food and beverage festivals may be particularly effective for several reasons, including:

1. In my experience, the people who attend such festivals tend to be pleasand people who are willing to visit a libertarian booth. Perhaps this is due to the fact that attendees are having a good time, especially when they have consumed goodly amounts of food and drink.

2. Outreach team members usually have a good time at such events, both because they can consume goodly amounts of food and drink, and because the attendees who visit the booth are usually pleasant people.

3. Governments at various levels have become more intrusive in our lives regarding our choices of food and beverages. For example, in Virginia farmers have been prohibited from selling homemade cheeses made with unpasteurized milk. (Interestingly, such cheeses can be given away.) A Libertarian perspective concerning government regulation in such matters generally resonates well with food/beverage festival attendees.

Some examples of outreach efforts

* In June 2005, the Libertarian Party of Virginia sponsored a booth at the annual Old Dominion Beer Festival (Ashburn, Virginia). The Festival, a three-day event sponsored by the Old Dominion Brewing Company, has become very popular among beer enthusiasts on the East Coast. Beer breweries from several states offer samples of their products to attendees.

During the festival, the LPVa team distributed LP literature and used the “Operation Politically Homeless (OPH)” kit to introduce Libertarian ideas and candidates to dozens of attendees. The timing of this effort was propitious: the festival began the day after the Kelo vs City of New London Supreme Court decision. Many attendees seemed particularly interested in the Libertarian perspective concerning Kelo and the subject of eminent domain.

* In October, 2005, the Lynchburg Libertarians (helped by LP members from nearby local affiliates) sponsored its first outreach effort at the annual Sedalia Chili Cook-off. The Cook-off, located in the hamlet of Sedalia in a beautiful part of Bedford County, routinely has 35-40 teams in the competition. My estimate is that at least 500 people attend the event each year.

In addition to cooking five gallons of chili, we conducted a very successful “Operation Politically Homeless” outreach effort at the event. Several dozen people took the “World’s Smallest Political Quiz,” with many scoring in the Libertarian quadrant. In addition, our effort generated a nice article in the Lynchburg newspaper. The article featured an interview with Jeff Bowles, an elected Libertarian from Botetourt County who assisted the effort.

Due to the success of our effort in 2005, the Lynchburg Libertarians sponsored a team and information booth at the 2006 and 2007 Cook-offs. I am pleased to note that our team’s chili won 3rd place this year; more importantly, we found many new prospects for Libertarian activity in the area.

[Pictured: Dr. Lark holds the coveted trophy while posing with fellow competitors and OPHers Ray Hawkins, John Hoskins, Jeff Bowles, and Liz Bowles.]

* In July 2006, the Libertarian Party of Botetourt County, along with colleagues from the Roanoke Valley Libertarian Party and the New River Libertarians, sponsored a booth at the Blue Ridge Blues and BBQ Festival in Roanoke, Virginia. As with the previously mentioned efforts, the booth used the “Operation Politically Homeless” kit. According to Jeff and Liz Bowles (outreach organizers), the booth was very successful in reaching people with information about Libertarian ideas.

From my experience, Libertarian booths at food and beverage festivals allow us to do good and do well at the same time. I hope more Libertarians will add such festivals to their regular outreach event menu.

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About the author: Dr. Lark is a professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia. He is Chairman of the Board of the Advocates. He also serves as Region 5 representative on the Libertarian National Committee, and served as national chairman of the Libertarian Party during the 2000-2002 term.

Find out more about how to use OPH at your local food and beverage festival.