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As a way to honor its 150th anniversary in 2024, the Binford House established Passport dinners, a culinary journey featuring a different catered five-course meal each time, accompanied by live music. The dinners resume Saturday, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m., dining at 7 p.m.

With the Chinese Lunar New Year being the Year of the Snake, this first menu is Asian-inspired. Diners will be served mussels in lemongrass, Korean influenced short ribs and banh flan dessert. Bring your own beer or wine pairing.

“My husband and I research recipes and he watches cooking shows, so we’re always getting ideas from that,” said Binford caterer Missy Sharer-Pieters. “We always want to offer different types of proteins and we haven’t done short ribs yet.”

Dining Passports are available for 10 months (no meals in December and January) at $1,000 per person, (half of which is considered a tax deductible gift to Binford House) or six-month passports for $650 — you select the months you’d like to dine. Past food themes have included Cajun, Mediterranean, Iowa State Fair, Brazilian and more. A vegetarian option will be offered in the future.

“We decided since it’s a passport, we wanted it to be like you’re on a trip, so every time it was a different kind of theme, and it went over really well,” she noted of last year’s success.

Eighteen Passports were sold in 2024 and everyone repurchased this year. Nearly 30 Passports have been sold with dining capped at 38 per meal.

Peggy Kelly, who serves as board co-president this year along with Amy Fiesel, said the decision was made to offer 10 meals this time around instead of 12 due to people traveling for the holidays and inclement weather.

“We’re trying to help the snowbirds out a little bit,” Kelly said. “Binford House was also very busy with holiday events.”

Passport meal dates are as follows: Feb. 1, March 8, April 12, May 10, June 14, July 12, Aug. 9, Sept. 13, Oct. 11 and Nov. 8.

RSVP to Sharer-Pieters via Facebook or text to 641-691-5205.

When Jessie Binford gifted the home to the Marshalltown Federation of Women’s Clubs, it did not include an endowment. Therefore, the board has to raise funds to sustain it. The sale of last year’s Passports went to repaint trim on the house, repair the porch and have the door to the carriage house repainted — all for a sum of $23,000. The primary goal for 2025 is to upgrade the home’s dated HVAC system, estimated to cost $45,000. The board has written grants to various entities for assistance, being turned down with one it’s waiting to hear back from.

“Right now the kitchen and bathroom furnace is top priority, but we can’t just go to any furnace dealer. We need a certain kind for this old house,” she noted. “Not everyone knows how to put those in.”

The upstairs, which is closed to the public, is in need of replastering and the bathroom is out of order. Items stored in the attic are being reviewed for keeping or donating.

“Our goal is down the road to have the upstairs available for meetings and tours,” she said. “So many people come and want to see the upstairs but it’s just storage now and not in the best shape.”

Kelly said the board receives donations from patrons and is always looking for new funding channels.

“There are so many resources we are trying to connect with and looking at options,” she said.

The Binford House is available to rent for a variety of special occasions by calling 641-753-5450. It will host an English tea in May.

“The house was a gift to the women of the community and we want to keep it going,” Kelly said.