His family belongs to a church near his hometown in New Hampshire.
At the annual Christmas Party, Ivan would entertain the parishioners with his amazing piano prowess. (Worth noting here that Ivan is an even more accomplished flutist...)
After a few years, Ivan realized he wanted to mingle and party with his friends, and offered my fiance & I the gig. She was a soloist in his top choirs during high school.
It was a great gig. The setup was easy, people were all very kind. We strummed gentle standards, rocked up Christmas carols, did our thing... and on top of being paid for this quick set, we were kindly invited to dinner.
Upon entering the food line, we realized this was a Wild Game Dinner. Which is to say, a pot luck of homemade dishes the parishioners cooked up using animals they had killed.
Squirrel Pie. Venison. I remember a steak-like bear meat dish with pasta. It was a little overwhelming, this massive array of delicious foreign meats, and my memory blurs, so I turn to my band mate, soulmate and Resident Food Critic for assistance:
"With Pleasure! But I am forgetting some things...
1. Squirrel Pie (I remember this being nutty - which makes sense)
2. Bear meat in a noodle casserole type dish (I remember bear meat tasting sweet and having an odd texture, would not do as well as a steak on it's own)
I also remember there being pheasant and venison, but I don't remember the dishes as well I think because I am more familiar with those meats. I had never had bear or squirrel before..."
The food was all delicious and at the time it didn't seem as weird as it does in Hindsight.
It was the Best Christmas Gig Ever.
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