Last weekend, 80 Pontiac residents gathered at The Café on Mill Street in Portage du Fort for its fourth annual Strawberry Social Luncheon to get a taste of local homemade delicacies while supporting a charitable cause.

Organized by The Café owners Albert Luimes and his wife Carolyn, the event served as an opportunity for locals to feast on some tasty treats while raising funds for an African orphanage.

With all sort of delicious food and drink on hand, including a variety of sandwiches and wraps, iced tea and of course strawberry shortcake the atmosphere was as ideal for an art-loving foodie as one could imagine.

Although the meals weren’t priced, customers were invited to contribute to the cause by donating a respective sum of money.

Along with a few of his masterpieces displayed on canvases outside the building, local artist Larry Evans provided a comfortably nostalgic ambiance with easy-listening, smooth country-style instrumental tunes on his six-string.

With an open house featuring two talented local artists in the Stone School Gallery across the street, people roamed from one site to another enjoying the town’s artistic beauties, and its culinary delights at their own pace.

Having contributed to a number of humanitarian initiatives as an engineer, Luimes has been involved in community development in Kimilili, Kenya with a project called Omwabini Rescue Steps since 2007.

Ever since retiring from the workforce Luimes has done his fair share of work with the organization, including helping orphan-children grow up and make successful lives for themselves despite their unfortunate circumstances.

“I’ve gotten e-mails from a couple of them,” he said. “One guy is working as a mechanic in Nairobi.”

For Luimes, the event is important for the community as it gives locals and tourists alike a chance to enjoy the unique culinary and artistic talents the town has to offer without too much hassle or heavy traffic.

“There’s no local restaurant anymore,” he said. “And this gives them a chance to take a stroll up and down the street. The art store is pretty close by. It gives them a bit of a destination without a major event.”

All the proceeds from the event will go towards leasing a piece of land for the orphanage in Kimilili to give them a place to grow food and maintain farming equipment, Luimes said.

Local artist Larry Evans plays smooth instrumental melodies on his guitar as the folks enjoy their meals on Saturday afternoon.

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