Tongg founded the Bacon & Lox Society in 2009, as she was studying to become an officiant. Pennsylvania law dictates that ordained ministers must have established congregations in order to preside over marriage ceremonies. “I didn't want to do a fake church,” says Tongg. So, she formed what she calls a “celebration congregation.” The name was inspired by her bond with a Jewish friend who spent some holidays with Tongg and her family while the two were growing up. “I was the bacon, she was the lox,” explains Tongg. On its website (baconandloxsociety.com), the group describes itself as a community of makers who take pleasure in everyday artistry and seek to celebrate the creative gifts of others. They preach inclusion and collaboration.
Many of the society's events involve sharing a meal at a communal table. “Outside the box” ideas are encouraged—they celebrated what they dubbed “Thanksgivukah” when Thanksgiving and Hanukkah overlapped. They once even dined together on a frozen Lake Wallenpaupack in the dead of winter. Still, Tongg admits being hit with some skepticism when she first floated the idea of carrying out an entire dinner party in a body of water. “Everyone was like, ‘In the creek? Don't you mean, on the side?'” she says with a laugh. There was a laundry list of logistical challenges that would need to be conquered. Still, that first year—2016—they pulled it off, with 22 attendees gathered around a delicious spread served smack dab in the middle of McMichael Creek in Stroudsburg.
By the second year, with word of the uniqueness of the gathering spreading and more people clamoring to get on the guest list, the dinner doubled in size. But—then and now—this is not a ticketed event. “Everyone who attended was someone who was working to make the event happen,” Tongg explains. Tongg and her fellow creatives—chefs, artisans, craftspeople, designers, builders, musicians—all bring something to the table, literally. “You have to work for it,” Tongg says. “You have to be generous and want to share your talent with whoever is there. No one is competing. Everyone is trying to figure out their role to make the whole thing work.”
The 2019 event welcomed 60-some guests and began, as it always does, with the group gathered at Promise Ridge, an outdoor space that serves as a wedding venue on Tongg's property near the creek. It's here where Tongg delivers her opening remarks and lays out the theme for the celebration, which gives everyone something to chew on in the spiritual sense. This past July, Tongg encouraged them to think about their own individual “ripples” and to imagine how their creative output might travel out into the world and impact others in new and surprising ways. She spoke about Renee Bower, who had provided the furniture used at past Full Circle meals, prior to losing her battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma in December of 2018. Bower had hoped to renew her wedding vows with her husband, Derek, at Promise Ridge. Tongg says she was touched to learn that Bower thought so highly of the work she had done to cultivate and transform the little spot in nature into a welcoming space for those wanting to affirm a lifetime commitment. “We all do our best as creatives to follow our heart, take a risk,” says Tongg. “It might become a symbol for someone that you have no control over.”
Guests then enjoyed cocktails and snacked on savory ice pops from chef Erika Urso (love bites by erika). They were treated to a powerful musical performance from Liz Fullerton of Honey Watts before heading down to the creek. This was the moment they saw the communal table in all of its decked-out glory for the first time. “That's the magical thing,” Tongg says.
Unfortunately, there's no special wand that can be used to conjure up that magic. Setup on the day of the dinner begins several hours before the reveal. And, for those contributing to the aesthetics of the communal table or the execution of the menu, the clock starts ticking weeks or even months before the big day. Nicole Hutnyk of event planning company Rabbit Rabbit Crew chose kaleidoscopes as the visual embodiment of Tongg's overall theme. Artist Karina Puente assembled the 70-foot-long, papel picado-style cloth that was draped across the table. Sarah Petryk of Allium Floral Design and Event Styling assembled the elaborate flower installation at the center of the table that looked like a 3-D version of an Impressionist painting.
As guests took in the splendor of the table and décor, they gathered in a circle and joined hands. This is an annual ritual that Tongg calls “pass the heartbeat”—one person squeezes the hand of the person to their right, until the gesture has traveled all the way around the circle. Once that's done, it's time to feast.
The menu was a tag-team effort undertaken by three chefs: Andre deWaal (Andre's Lakeside), Mike Carrino (Pig & Prince) and Brandon Grimila (403 Broad). Tongg says she was hesitant to propose the idea of the collaboration because it would mean each chef having to surrender some of their culinary command, but all three were quick to embrace the idea. They came up with a six-course meal, starting with a floating vegetable kaleidoscope appetizer that greeted guests as they made their way to the creek. Later courses included buckwheat noodles with black bass, dashi and miso, as well as leg of lamb with baba ghanoush, grilled peaches and rainbow chard. The chefs grilled many of the items on site, using a metal rowboat they converted into their own floating roaster. Dessert was tamales with blueberries, mint and coconut horchata.
After guests polished off the last of the food, they had the opportunity to officially join the Bacon & Lox Society by a baptism, of sorts, right in the creek. Guests were photographed half-submerged in the shimmering water by Rob Yaskovic. Tongg calls the finished product “water portraits.” By that time the sun was setting, and it was time to pack up and leave. The goal every year, Tongg says, is to leave the creek just as pristine as they found it, and everyone pitches in to make it happen. “It's the least glamorous part, but it's real. It reinforces that we're all in this together.”
Over the years, the group's bond has deepened. “We all know each other,” Tongg says. “We trust each other.” They see each other frequently throughout the year at weddings and other special events when they're on the clock and working in their chosen professions, but the creek dinner is just for them. “It's nice to have this one thing where we're not being paid,” says Tongg. “We do it because we enjoy it.” And that's one of the reasons Tongg continues to forge ahead with the Full Circle Meal every year, despite the laborious planning process that precedes it. “Every year it turns out that it's worth the cost,” she explains. And yes, planning is already well underway for the 2020 edition.
