Sheets of rain bombed 160 guests as they scrambled for shelter with their lobster dinner in hand. It’s not how the Dartmouth YMCA had envisioned their seventh annual farm-to-table meal, but staff still called the event a success.

“It’s not how it was planned, but everyone’s eating,” said YMCA Southcoast Marketing Specialist Kelly Machado in the dark. Her hair was drenched, she’d left her shoes behind because they were “starting to squish,” and lightning cracked across the sky. “It’s still going to be a successful event.”

The July 23 dinner had started in a cooling, sunlit atmosphere, following a 94-degree day. Black Bass Grill’s Matt Rooney and District No. 1 firefighter Skott Rebello heated coals with lighter fluid underneath the four grills that would soon hold lobster. Putnam Murdock and Barry Gross serenaded the audience with folk music. YMCA staff Amber Brabant and Luke Kelly circled the venue with servings of edamame salad and buffalo chicken.

Eric Martin held a beer while conversing with his peers. “It’s a good time,” he said. “We’ve been here before.”

The goal of the farm-to-table dinner was to raise $15,000 in scholarship money and funding for the YMCA's Sharing the Harvest Community Farm, said Dartmouth YMCA Executive Director Mike Mahoney. In theme with local harvesting, Mahoney said everything came from local companies—the vegetables from the YMCA farm, Westport Rivers supplied the wine, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company provided beer, and Black Bass Grill offered services and catering.

This year, however, the annual feast encompassed a regional twist. “This year, we wanted to include something really, truly local to our heritage, so lobster was the way to go,” said Mahoney. The lobsters were donated by Cape Quality on Dartmouth Street.

This was Mahoney’s second run at organizing the community event. He said that, following the last farm-to-table in July 2015, they held a meeting to start organizing the 2016 equivalent.

“We love getting the community together. They get to see the farm. They get to eat on the farm. We really feel it connects them to our community organization,” he said.

YMCA Southcoast CEO James Scherer was excited for lobster, but in the meantime, he said he really enjoyed the country music sounding through the venue. Although only 90 days into his CEO tenure, Scherer said he was really impressed by the give-and-take in each of the YMCA communities.

“When you think about what the community has done to make this happen, it’s the community supporting the Y’s endeavor,” said Scherer. “And here we are in the middle of one of the more served areas, and we’re able to give back to the community to enhance and enrich young lives.” Last year alone, the the YMCA’s community farm donated 92,000 pounds of fresh food to the Southcoast community.

For an $85 ticket, guest enjoyed either a lobster dish—complete with corn, various sausages, and potatoes— or a chicken dinner. They also browsed auction items including a football signed by New England Patriots’ Tom Brady, a two-night hotel stay on Cuttyhunk Island, and tickets to see Revolution Soccer.

The auction closed prematurely following the thunder and power outage that sent everyone eating under car headlights.

“We saw [the storm] coming so we shoveled it down,” said guest Glenn Ducharme.

Despite watching the rain outside the pavilion, YMCA staffer Peter Bruce smiled. “Everyone seems happy, and that’s all that’s important.”