McGregor Community Christmas Dinner serves 600 people
- Fred Groves
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Ever wonder what it takes to cook dinner for 600 people?
The Knights of Columbus Council #2844 along with the Squirettes of Mary pooled their resources and talents in McGregor and hosted the 29th Annual Christmas Turkey Dinner.
As soon as you walked into the front doors of the Columbian Club you could smell the delicious, recognizable holiday favourite aroma - roasted turkey.
“Most of the prep work happened on Friday,” explained Squirette Cara Charette. Asked how many pairs of hands were in the kitchen she said, “it fluctuated during the day, there was about 20.”
Preparing potatoes, trays, desserts, veggies and salads, as well as stuffing takes a lot of work which began again early Sunday (Dec 21).
“This morning, we got here at 9 a.m. and peeled a whole lot of potatoes. There were seven or eight really big bags,” said Charette.
Chopping all the veggies is a laborious task and one which the two groups are pleased to do year-after-year. The Squirettes, a girls youth group, was the organizing group and a few weeks ago hosted the Breakfast with Santa, also held at the Columbian Club.
“We have one or two big fundraisers each year,” commented Charette.
Dennis Rousseau has been a member of the McGregor Knights of Columbus #2844 for 47 years and was recently honoured with a Life Membership.
“It’s (Sunday’s dinner) a part of our fraternal to help out in the community,” he said.
Beginning at 3 p.m. and running until 6:30 p.m. the Squirettes served up dinner to hundreds who reserved a spot. According to Charette, 160 meals were delivered to seniors and those who could not get to the venue.
The Dec. 21 dinner was free, however donations were accepted.
For those curious to how many turkeys it takes to feed 600, through the rumblings in the kitchen, Charette reported, 32.
By Fred Groves