Our small, rural community of Newbern, AL, nearly tripled in size for the 2022 Pig Roast weekend! This year’s event, the first since 2019, was a two-day celebration of West Alabama filled with three project ribbon cuttings, eight alumni lectures, a 100-mile current projects tour, graduation ceremony, and lots of fantastic food and music! A lot happened, so let’s take a look at Pig Roast by the numbers!
3 Project Openings
- Breathing Wall Mass Timber Project feat. teammates Fergie Ferguson & Preston Raines, with consultants Salmaan Craig, Kiel Moe, and David Kennedy
- Thermal Mass & Buoyancy Ventilation Project feat. teammates Cory Subasic, Livia Barrett, & Jeff Jeong, also supported by Sal, Kiel, and David
- Horseshoe Courtyard feat. teammates Caleb R. Munson, Claudia Paz Melendez, Zack Cudney, and Claire Kubilins, and with client Dr. John Dorsey of Project Horseshoe Farm
8 Alumni Lectures, PechaKucha-Style
- Samuel Maddox ’14, Boston, MA
- Stephen Durham ’13, Kauai, HI
- Ally Klinner ’12, Washington, DC
- David Frazier ’11, New York City, NY
- Cameron Acheson ’10, Birmingham, AL
- Betsy Farrell Garcia ’08, Auburn, AL
- John Marusich ’07, Birmingham, AL
- Laura Filipek Patterson ’06, New Orleans, LA
2 Bands
- Friday night: Raina Shine from Tuscaloosa, AL
- Saturday night: Debbie Bond Blues Band feat. Carroline Shines, “Radiator” Rick, Marcus “Jukeman” Lee on drums and Alabama Blues Camp graduates
4 Projects Presentations With 4 Amazing Clients
- Moundville Archaeological Park Community Pavilion feat. teammates Caitlyn Biffle, Collin Brown, Jackie Rosborough, and Brenton Smith
- Patriece’s Home feat. teammates Adam Davis, Daniel Burton, Laurel Holloway, and Lauren Lovell
- Rosie’s Home feat. teammates Anna Leach, Sarah Recht, Julia Whitt, Jon Hunt Ficken, Grant Schurman, and Will Anderson
- C.H.O.I.C.E. House feat. teammates AC Priest, Hailey Osborne, Davis Benfer, and Raymond Teo
2 Class Presentations
- History and Watercolor Class by Dick Hudgens
- Woodshop Class by Steve Long
2 Rural Studio Initiatives Updates
- Front Porch Initiative team with Rusty Smith, Mackenzie Stagg, & Betsy Farrell Garcia
- Rural Studio Farm with Eric Ball
4 Meals
Friday night’s dinner at the Horseshoe Courtyard was provided by The Stable and Abadir’s. We had mountains of tasty turkey and veggie wraps from Monique Kitchen at The Stable. Sarah Cole from Abadir’s treated us with a special farm salad, a chard + chickpea grain salad, an orange blossom ginger cake, and a coconut cake. Seriously delicious! We kicked off Saturday morning with treats from Wayside Bakery, then our favorite tacos for lunch from our very own Catherine Tabb and Doris Ward in the Rural Studio Kitchen. Saturday night, we had delicious BBQ pig by Bobby Scott along with more yummy BBQ and fried catfish from Mustang Oil!
23 Sponsors
Thank you to our incredible local sponsors! We couldn’t do this without you! Alabama Power, AerCon, BDA Farm, Hale County Hospital, NAPA Auto Parts, Parker Tire, Peoples Bank, Price Drywall, Reynold’s Electric, Superior Metal, Sweetbriar Tea & Coffee, The Stable, Blue Shadows B&B, City Furniture, Dozier Hardware, Greensboro Depot, Holmstead Company, Partridge Berry, Stillwater Machine, the Smelley family, Citizens Bank, Freeman Chiropractic, & Johnson-Torbert House
1 Graduation Ceremony
Introductions were given by Hale County Probate Judge Arthur Crawford and Karen Rogers, Acting Dean of Auburn University College of Architecture, Design & Construction. We also honored several special guests: Chelsea Elcott, Emefa Butler, Mary Jane Everett, Timothy Hursley, and Dr. John Dorsey. With surprise valediction speakers Julie Eizenberg and Hank Koning from Koning Eizenberg Architecture in Santa Monica, CA, we celebrated our graduating 5th-year students: AC Priest, Adam Davis, Brenton Smith, Caitlyn Biffle, Collin Brown, Daniel Burton, Davis Benfer, Hailey Osborne, Jackie Rosborough, Laurel Holloway, Lauren Lovell, and Yi Xuan Teo.
AND 1 Marriage Proposal
Congrats Jake & Lauren, two returning alumni!
And, of course, no Pig Roast would be complete without a few of our favorites: the Spencer family’s cannon blast of “Whiffle Dust” and beautiful (and massive) fireworks seen from every corner of Newbern.
If you missed Pig Roast, you can still catch up on the news from Rural Studio with blog posts from each team here.
Lastly, BIG congrats to our 5th-years who graduated from Auburn last week. We’re so proud of y’all!
Thank you to everyone for your support! #WarEagle
