In the Northeast, nothing feels more like summer than a meal shared outside. While widespread dining outdoors often starts at the first sign of spring, July is a month that heavily features this practice. May and June can be rather chaotic, as schools finish up and many rush to fit in the first of their outdoor pursuits. July, on the other hand, can usher in a slower pace. The summer heat sets in and vacation days free us up for activities we otherwise don’t make time for. Grilling, hosting a barbeque, or planning a picnic are common in the haze of summer and community parks play a vital role in preserving these traditions..
Like many features of American heritage, the barbeque tradition was imported. Many historians credit the technique to indigenous tribes in the West Indies, particularly the island that today holds the Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Here Europeans learned a unique way to cook meat over an indirect flame, dubbed the technique ‘barbacoa’. They brought what they learned North.
We can look even further back in history to learn about the heritage of cooking and eating outside as well. Cooking with fire is a practice early humans may have done more than a million years ago. More recent history shows a lot of outdoor food preparation and consumption, with archaeological evidence found all over the world. Indigenous North American archaeological sites record plenty of outdoor cooking in earth ovens and fire pits. A number of portable ceramic trays that likely grilled meat at picnics in Ancient Greece were recently discovered. The histories of Roman Britain, Ancient Egypt, Dynastic China and more include plenty of artifacts linked to outdoor harvest feasts and festivals. It’s not just ancient and international history either. Many of us have a family history of eating outside. For generations, Americans have celebrated with barbeques, picnics, and summer feasts, passing on traditions and memories to younger generations. If you think back on your own childhood summers, an outdoor meal might be a featured memory.
Regardless of its origins or role in your own history, the heritage of eating outside in the summer is today cherished by many. Our national holiday marking American independence is directly linked to the practice of barbecuing, with country-wide cookouts marking the 4th of July each year. Backyards remain a popular place to host an outdoor meal, but public places offer other options. Parks around the country often feature picnic shelters and barbeque pits. In Western New York, parks that make it easy to eat outside allow us even more opportunity to enjoy our temperate summer season.
As a park committed to giving its community as many ways as possible to benefit from time spent outdoors, the new Ralph Wilson Park has not abandoned the heritage of barbecuing and outdoor dining. Instead, we hope it will be easier and better than ever. When the new park is complete, there will be many places to eat outside. Shelters, picnic tables, and lawn space begging to be covered with a blanket will make outdoor meals easy. Meeting a friend, gathering a group of kids, or convening with coworkers to share food at the park give us another way to use this exceptional new greenspace. Larger gatherings will be easy to host at the shelters and summer celebrations easier than ever to plan. When the new park is complete, our traditions of eating outside in July, or any other month, will be easier than ever to keep alive.
We are building a space that supports many aspects of community heritage at Ralph Wilson Park. The traditions of barbequing, picnicking, and sharing a meal outside add to the many ways this park is building heritage for Buffalo, for Western New York, and for all who visit the shores of our Great Lake Erie.
While much of the park is still closed for construction, two shelters remain open adjacent to the pool & splash pad and available to rent this summer. A permit from the City of Buffalo is required and can be found here.
Lead Photo: A July 4th cookout in a Buffalo park in 1968. Citation: Collection of The Buffalo History Museum. General photograph collection, Food
Article written by Kathryn Grow Allen. To read more about the project this article is a part of, check out our HEP page for past and future reading on heritage-building at Ralph Wilson Park in Western New York.
