I find the whole thing weird. My guess is it was concocted as a way to feed a whole community cheaply but call it fancy. An evening answer to the pancake breakfast. Thereby, the ”toppings” are likely to be anything cheap and easy. Since it's pretty much grits, think of what goes there. Or what you might see on a polenta bar. Greens, onions, peppers, sausage if there's meat, or barbecue brisket or pulled pork for that matter if so, mushrooms and/or tomatoes for umami, beans, maybe cheese but the polenta might not be hot enough for it to get soft. It depends on if they're going for authentically Italian (mushroom ragout?) or what the locals might prefer. Etc., etc….

It might be a polenta bar (think taco bar) so people can suit themselves, or plated for portion control.

With that kind of event, I find it best to go not so hungry you're desperate for food even if you dislike what's being served, but with enough appetite to enjoy your meal if it's nice.

If you're unsure and you have a flyer or website for it, you should be able to get in touch with the organizers and ask.

I Tried, just got a sold out reply. Whatever. it's a $ maker for NOT my HS! Just a thing for my BIL's HS.

Interesting idea. Polenta is basically a bulky carbohydrate filler food so I'd be curious what they're serving. Is it this event?https://srhsf.org/what-we-do/polenta-feed/polenta-feed-photo-gallery/

Sadly no pictures of the actual food.

Rather mysterious, isn't it? I'm curious as well. I mean, they can't just be serving plain polenta - or can they?

There’s an online cooking blog with an article where the writer had a board down the middle of her table spread with polenta and then three different sauces (beef in red wine, braised kale, and wild mushroom ragout) topping it in different places. I guess it’s the gluten free equivalent of a spaghetti night.

It ended up being a very nice salad (for a gathering of 400+), some nice rolls and the polenta and a beef stew type topping. All you can eat. All the food was served by seniors at the HS. My BIL donated 4 tix to a 49ers game, and they sold for $900! I went to a rival HS, so I wore a tag saying "Monty chick, supporting ALL schools!" Got many thumbs up! All in all a good thing!

Here's a recipe from America's Test Kitchen

I haven't made this version yet - I normally make grits instead, and I add a lot of ingredients to grits, including celery, red bell pepper, sausage, egg, cheese, herbs, etc and cook it in broth before baking it as a casserole.

I learned about polenta while working in an Italian restaurant many years ago. It is a great vehicle (and extender) for other— yes more expensive— foods. I eat vegetarian and like it with ratatouille, caponata, and mushrooms bourguignon.

A restaurant we go to has polenta croutons in some of their main dish salads. It's a tasty surprise with the crispy outside and the creamy inside. I've never cooked with polenta, but seems like it would be a great substitute for pasta in some dishes for those who are gluten intolerant.

I make polenta with whole-grain corn meal, usually Bob's Red Mill medium grind. I first tasted whole-grain polenta at a food demo in Macy's years ago and loved the more complex flavor.