Sip and paint to your heart's content at Honeysuckle Tea House
Bruce McLaren, of Chapel Hill, is an employee of the HoneySuckle Tea House. He is often responsible for processes like removing the leaves from tea plants so that they can be used in the creation of their locally made beverages. The HoneySuckle Tea House, along with their other farm locations is also used as a provider of natural ingredients like tea leaves, blueberries and honey that is then used at other venue locations including the Honeysuckle Meadery and Wine Bar and the Looking Glass Cafe.
The sun sets over the farmland as the wind rustles the Tibetan prayer flags. With a tea cup in one hand and paintbrush in the other, you place the finishing touches on your painting of a still-life pumpkin patch.
Afterschool Art and More! will host a "paint and sip" event Saturday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Honeysuckle Tea House. The theme is pumpkin patch — just in time for fall festivities.
This will be the second paint and sip event at Honeysuckle, the last session took place in September. Artist, owner and founder of Afterschool Art and More! Kim Murdock said the atmosphere at the tea house provides a special aesthetic to the lesson.
“I think it’s really fun,” Murdock said. “It’s a unique opportunity to paint outdoors. It’s also people trying something new. Whether they’ve painted before or they haven’t it doesn’t matter. They can come with a friend or meet new people.”
Bruce McLaren, of Chapel Hill, is an employee of The HoneySuckle Tea House. He is often responsible for processes like removing the leaves from tea plants so that they can be used in the creation of their locally made beverages. The HoneySuckle Tea House, along with their other farm locations is also used as a provider of natural ingredients like tea leaves, blueberries and honey that is then used at other venue locations including the Honeysuckle Meadery and Wine Bar and the Looking Glass Cafe.
The outdoor aspect of Honeysuckle is also what got third-year graduate student Julie Kafka interested about the pumpkin paint and sip.
“I like that it’s open air,” Kafka said. “On a nice day, it’s a good excuse to get out of the downtown area and go to a place that’s much more quiet and tranquil.”
Kafka said she has been to the tea house numerous times with friends to catch up over a cup of tea or simply to study on her own. She said she enjoys the variety of the menu.
“I like trying all the different kinds of teas — they have a really great selection,” Kafka said. “It’s a nice place to just try a new cup of tea every time”
Murdock said the event is not dependent on skill set and is open to whoever is interested, from children to adults.
“It’s for people of all levels,” Murdock said. “They don’t need any experience to have fun. Really anyone can attend this class and sip whatever they like.”
Although Afterschool Art and More! began as an enrichment program for students K-12, the "and More!" portion includes painting parties, team building events, private painting lessons and the paint and sip events geared towards adults.
Afterschool Art and More! also hosts paint and sips at several other locations besides Honeysuckle Tea House including Breakaway Cafe, Briar Chapel Clubhouse, Looking Glass Cafe, The Root Cellar PBO and Coco Bean Coffee Shop and Cafe.
Made of repurposed materials, The Honeysuckle Tea House, located on 8871 Pickards Meadow Rd, Chapel Hill, grows the products used in many of their beverages. The HoneySuckle Tea House, along with their other farm locations is also used as a provider of natural ingredients like tea leaves, blueberries and honey that is then used at other venue locations including the Honeysuckle Meadery and Wine Bar and the Looking Glass Cafe.
Alisa Wilcher, COO of East West Organics, where Honeysuckle Farm and Tea House is located, said they focus on community events to include as large and diverse a population as possible at their site.
“The main idea is that we are a community space and that’s what we want to foster — community for each and every individual to come out and be able to enjoy our space,” Wilcher said. “If you’re able to offer a lot of different events, then you’re able to hit a larger spectrum of people who want to come.”
Wilcher said a backbone of the business model on the farm and in the tea house is sustainability.
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“In our climate and our culture, it’s good to be able to sustain on your own and not take more than you need,” Wilcher said. “Having a sustainable business model also helps in some ways to give back.”
Kafka said she thought Honeysuckle’s business practices were a plus, and the event sounds like a quaint escape from the pressures of school work.
“It sounds like a fun way to unwind and use some creative energy to work on a project that isn’t going to be turned in for a grade,” Kafka said. “It’s a nice outlet to break up the week.”
