That was just one of several observations from Adriana and Mary Trigiani on Sunday as they met with fans, answered questions and signed books for a crowd of about 50 at Mountain Empire Community College. The event — “Stirring Up Romance” — saw the town natives and sisters getting reacquainted with childhood friends and meeting new people at a social in the college’s Goodloe Center before an audience question-and-answer session on stage.

Proceeds from the day went to the John Fox Jr. Museum and the June Tolliver House in Big Stone Gap. With Mary serving as moderator and respondent, she and Adriana found several ways to connect food with their experiences growing up in Big Stone Gap and to their later experiences outside the region.