Tidewater Heritage Foundation

Exploring the culinary traditions that have sustained the Tidewater region, these programs focus on heritage ingredients, preservation methods, and cooking techniques that keep the region’s food culture alive and thriving.

• Tide Table: Tidewater Farm Dinners
  A limited-capacity seasonal dinner series where guests enjoy multi-course meals prepared with heritage ingredients from the farm and local waterways, paired with discussions about historic Tidewater foodways.
• The Kitchen Ledger: A Recipe Preservation Project
  A recipe documentation project collecting, testing, and archiving historic Tidewater recipes. Families are invited to contribute their own handwritten recipes, stories, and photographs, which are compiled into a published community cookbook.
• Salt & Smoke: A Tidewater Preservation Series
  Workshops focused on historic food preservation techniques, such as salt-curing fish, smoking meats, fermenting vegetables, and pickling, teaching methods that kept Tidewater communities fed for generations.

Celebrating Tidewater’s deep agricultural heritage, these programs connect participants with the land, its crops, and the sustainable farming practices that have shaped the region for generations.

• Tidewater Test Garden
  A small, carefully managed heirloom garden focused on growing and documenting Tidewater-region heritage crops. Visitors and volunteers can participate in seasonal planting, harvesting, and seed-saving workshops.
• Hands in the Earth: Heritage Farm Apprenticeship
  A seasonal, part-time program where participants learn traditional Tidewater farming techniques such as heritage grain cultivation, natural fertilization, and hand-harvesting methods, with a focus on practical, hands-on work.
• The Heirloom Larder
  A hands-on seed-saving and heritage breed initiative, where participants learn to grow, harvest, and preserve traditional Tidewater crops like heirloom corn and beans, and raise heritage poultry using historic farming techniques.

These programs honor the relationship between people and the land by preserving the natural beauty and resources of Tidewater. They focus on sustainability, waterway health, and the traditional ways that people have interacted with and cared for their environment.

• Oyster & Waterway Stewardship Days
  Quarterly, small-group outings to local rivers and waterways to learn about historic oystering and sustainable aquaculture, featuring hands-on oyster seeding, shore cleanup, and water-quality monitoring.

• Wild Foraging Walks
  Guided seasonal walks through the farm and surrounding landscapes, teaching participants how to identify and sustainably harvest wild edibles like persimmons, pawpaws, and native herbs used in traditional Tidewater cooking.

• Working the Water  A hands-on workshop series focused on the historic fishing methods of the Tidewater region. Participants learn the craft of net-mending, fish trapping, and hand-lining using traditional tools and materials. Sessions explore the role of sustainable, small-scale fishing in Tidewater communities.

These programs honor the region’s rich cultural history through storytelling, music, and seasonal traditions. Participants engage in hands-on experiences that celebrate the community’s shared past, preserving the traditions and values of Tidewater life.

• Fireside Story Suppers
  A monthly small-group dinner featuring traditional Tidewater recipes paired with storytelling from local historians, farmers, or watermen who share personal and cultural histories.
• The Heritage Market
  A quarterly farm and craft market featuring local producers who use historic methods, like stone-ground grits, hand-forged tools, salt-cured fish, and traditionally woven textiles, offering a direct connection between makers and the community.
• Tidewater Traditions
  A holiday gathering where food, music, and storytelling come together. Visitors experience hands-on cooking, net-mending, basket-weaving, and oyster-shucking demonstrations while enjoying a communal meal rooted in Tidewater tradition.

Dedicated to preserving the craftsmanship that built Tidewater, these programs offer opportunities to learn and practice the traditional trades and skills that have shaped the region’s homes, farms, and communities.

• Hewn & Hammered: Traditional Woodworking Techniques
  A workshop series focused on the tools and methods used in historic Tidewater carpentry. Participants learn to use hand planes, drawknives, and adzes to shape wood, practicing traditional joinery methods like mortise-and-tenon and lap joints for structural repairs and timber framing.
• Saturday Skillshares
  Monthly, intimate workshops where local craftspeople and food artisans teach heritage skills like blacksmithing, fishnet weaving, hand-churned butter making, or cider pressing, using traditional techniques and tools.
• Tidewater Trades
  A rotating skill-sharing program where Tidewater farmers, fishers, and artisans host hands-on experiences, ensuring that their knowledge of sustainable farming, oyster cultivation, boatbuilding, and craft traditions continues to be passed down.