Last Updated on September 4, 2024 1:20 pm
BOONE, NC – AUGUST 30, 2024: Hospitality House of Northwest N.C. officially turns forty years-old on September 7th and to celebrate they are hosting two fun and free events in the coming days. On Thursday September 5th they are buying Boone lunch at F.A.R.M. Café (located at 617 W. King St.) from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. “Buy Boone Lunch” is a F.A.R.M. Café sponsorship program where a business covers the average daily cost of food and operations. Every additional dollar donated for the meal is utilized to fight food insecurity in the High Country.
Hospitality House's relationship with F.A.R.M. Café goes back over twelve years, beyond the beginning of the downtown Boone nonprofit eatery. As F.A.R.M. Café was securing nonprofit status they utilized Hospitality House’s Community Kitchen to practice their “pay what you can” model, inviting the community to monthly
Hospitality Café nights co-hosted by both organizations, and asking them to support the startup of F.A.R.M. Café.
“I had recently been hired by the agency and getting to witness the passion of F.A.R.M. Café founder Renee Boughman really energized me,” states Hospitality House chief development director Todd Carter. “I remember one night a community member leaning over and whispering ‘when do the homeless people get here?’ not realizing that some of the folks sitting across from them were indeed homeless. I knew then that Renee was on to something.”
On Sunday September 8th from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Hospitality House is throwing a fortieth birthday party at The Appalachian Theatre. Everyone is invited to come celebrate with catered snacks, concessions, birthday cake, and a screening of the film “Same Kind of Different as Me,” a 2017 film based on the true story of the Hall family and their friendship with Denver Moore. The screenplay is based on the book of the same name that Hall and Moore co-authored where successful businessman Ron Hall and his wife, Deborah, discover a renewed sense of purpose when they begin to volunteer at a local mission in Fort Worth, Texas. Their lives change forever when they develop an unlikely friendship with Denver Moore, a homeless man who inspires them to save their struggling marriage.
“Turning the big 4-0 is big deal so, of course, we are having a birthday party,” says Carter. “One of the film’s taglines, ‘people are not always who they seem’ so accurately sums up forty years of Hospitality House. Same King of Different as Me, speaks mightily to our values and the mission mindset of our work and we want to share it with our community.
Appalachian Theatre doors open at 1:30 p.m. and admission is free; however, attendees are encouraged to reserve tickets online at https://www.apptheatre.org/events-and-tickets/same-kind-of-different-as-me.
Prior to the film there will be a small ceremony honoring past leaders. The agency is encouraging all current and former directors, staff, board members, Hearts members, volunteers and supporters to attend. Anyone with knowledge, history, or stories about Hospitality House, especially from the 1980’s and 90’s, is encouraged to contact Carter by email at todd@hosphouse.org.
For the latest updates and to learn more about Hospitality House of Northwest N.C. visit www.HospHouse.org and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok: @hosphouse and X @HospHouseNWNC.
