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Jester Park Nature Center

Admission into Jester Park
& the Nature Center is FREE

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Join Django and Polk County Conservation for an al fresco dinner event at Jester Park! Celebrate the bounty of Iowa’s natural lands with a menu highlighting wild ingredients foraged from the park. Django Chef Partner Derek Eidson will be preparing dishes over live fire fueled by wood sustainably collected on-site. Barn Town Brewing (West Des Moines) will be providing beer, including a special fruited sour made just for this meal with Jester Park’s wild blackcap raspberries. Get your tickets today for this unforgettable event!

Date: Sept. 23, 2023
Time: 4:30pm
Location: Jester Park Nature Center (12130 NW 128th Street, Granger Iowa)
Tickets: $150/person (+ tax). Beverage service and gratuity included.

A portion of ticket sales will fund the Raptor Education Program at Polk County Conservation. Donations help care for several raptors that help teach people of all ages about Iowa’s winged wonders and their value to our ecosystem.

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Appetizer / whipped goat cheese with wild sumac, grilled flat bread, wild grape preserves and forest pickles of cattails and oyster mushrooms

Salad / purslane and pickled garlic mustard with anchovy dressing, Parmesan Reggiano and forest focaccia croutons

Gnocchi / dandelion green ricotta gnocchi with peas, butter and mountain mint

Pork / miso-maple glazed pork cooked over Jester Park juniper with mulberry mostarda

Fish / sumac-rubbed walleye with pineapple weed capers and golden oyster mushrooms

Squash / fire-roasted winter squash with chili and black walnut gremolata

Dessert / grilled peaches with mulberry frozen custard, oat-nut crunch, and wild violet sauce

A note from Chef Derek Eidson: “Over the past few months, the foraging team at Polk County Conservation has worked hard to gather an abundance of wild edibles from the grounds of Jester Park. The Django team has been preserving, pickling, marinating and candying these foraged ingredients to preserve their unique characteristics. We’re proud to showcase Iowa’s deliciously wild flavors just steps from their source.”