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Event

Bite of Beaver Island, 2002

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypeEvent
Date2002-10-05
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Event
Date
2002-10-05
Kind
Celebration
Carried out by
Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce
Followed by
Bite of Beaver Island, 2003
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
celebrationcommunitytourismeconomy
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

The first “Bite of Beaver Island” was held Saturday, October 5, 2002, from 4 to 7 p.m. on the Convent lawn in downtown St. James — a food-sampling event where professional and amateur island chefs and restaurants sold small portions of their fare, each priced at $5.00 or under. It was organized by chef Deborah Harwood, with marketing and advertising handled by Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce Director Steve West, who framed it explicitly as a season-extending, one-time “prototype” the Chamber intended to repeat annually.1 The event drew almost 300 people and was, by contemporary account, “a great success,” selling out of Keith Pintler’s Chicago Pizza, shrimp, escargot, and chicken satay.2

Program

The founding announcement describes a single-venue, single-afternoon event: island chefs and restaurants selling $5-and-under tasting portions on the Convent lawn, 4-7 p.m. Harwood said she modeled the concept on a similar event she had taken part in years earlier in Bozeman, Montana.1 The November recap adds detail not in the announcement: live saxophone by L.D. Ryan; food items named as sold out (Chicago Pizza from Keith Pintler, at 72 pieces; shrimp; escargot; chicken satay, “next to disappear”); and jewelry for sale by local artist Eric Heline.2 There was no companion road race this year — the “Island Boodle” was not added until the second edition in 2003.

Evidence limits

Both the founding announcement and a substantive post-event recap are held, which is unusually complete for a first edition. Neither source gives an attendance figure more precise than “almost 300,” a dollar total for sales, or a full list of participating chefs/restaurants beyond those named as selling out.

Open questions

None outstanding beyond what is noted above.

See also

Footnotes

  1. “First ‘Bite of Beaver Island’ to be held October 5th,” Beaver Beacon, October 2002. ↩ ↩2

  2. “A Bite of Beaver,” Beaver Beacon, November 2002. ↩ ↩2

Sources

  1. Organizer Deborah Harwood’s post-event thank-you says most tables sold out, notes attendance by visitors from Traverse City, credits Chamber Director Steve West, and announces plans for a larger 2003 event. It corroborates the organizer’s outcome account but does not provide an independent attendance or sales audit.
    forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 00 · t000015
  2. "First 'Bite of Beaver Island' to be held October 5th," Beaver Beacon, October 2002.
    Founding announcement: a food-sampling event on the Convent lawn downtown, 4-7 p.m., October 5, 2002, billed as "the first ever event of its kind on the Island." Chef Deborah Harwood coordinates; each chef or restaurant sells small portions in the $5.00-and-under range. Harwood cites a similar event she took part in "several years ago" in Bozeman, Montana. Chamber of Commerce Director Steve West calls it a "prototype event" with "great upside potential" and states the Chamber's plan to make it "an annual fall event." No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2002-10_Beaver-Beacon
  3. The held thirty-six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2002-10_Beaver-Beacon
  4. "A Bite of Beaver," Beaver Beacon, November 2002.
    Recap of the first event, identical in text to the web-archived version: drew "almost 300 people." Visitors entered to the sounds of L.D. Ryan's saxophone; all 72 pieces of Keith Pintler's Chicago Pizza sold out quickly, as did the shrimp and escargot; the chicken satay was "next to disappear." Local artist Eric Heline displayed jewelry. The piece credits the event with drawing "a surprising number of off-Islanders" and calls it "one more step in broadening the season," promising "there'll be more food" next year. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2002-11_Beaver-Beacon
  5. The held thirty-six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2002-11_Beaver-Beacon
  6. Same recap text as the print/OCR edition, plus Deborah Harwood's thank-you letter: "Our first Bite of Beaver Island was a great success... I think most of the tables sold out of their food," singling out a couple from Traverse City who came "just for this event," thanking Chamber Director Steve West, and promising "a bigger Bite of Beaver Island for next year."
    websites · www.beaverbeacon.com · 2002-11-November · Bite_of_Beaver

Added 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Bite of Beaver Island, 2002”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/bite-of-beaver-2002/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Island Forum, “Thank You Bite of Beaver Island Participants,” November 21, 2002. (and 5 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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