Friendship dinner marks 19 years

It’s great to have family over for Christmas — all 2,000 of them.

Although the annual Christmas Friendship Dinner has grown since 1992 from a small, quaint get-together with a few attendees to a large-scale operation that serves thousands of helpings of turkey, ham and all the sides a year, it’s still about family.

Sure, most of us have our immediate families and cherish the wonder and excitement that comes with another new Christmas morning. But we also have another, larger family in Wasilla and the Valley. That’s why on the day before Christmas, we have a little something special for Santa’s elves and helpers working hard at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center to put on another fabulous Christmas Friendship Dinner.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, dinner committee chair Elsie O’Bryan and members Bob and Judy Bowers — along with about 250 of their closest friends — will put out a spread expected to be the event’s biggest ever. Last year, some 1,700 people were fed at the sports center or delivered meals. This year, organizers expect to feed 2,000 or more.

Something that makes the dinner one of our favorite events of the year is that it’s truly a community effort. There aren’t any signature sponsors that lay out all the food or money; rather, the turkeys, ham, potatoes and more come from a long laundry list of local businesses, churches and individuals.

Bob and his crew begin two days in advance cooking the some 80 turkeys, 400 pounds of ham and half a ton of potatoes. The food’s great and there are absolutely no Grinches admitted. When covering the dinner every year, our reporters are continually consoled about having to work on Christmas Day.

Attending the friendship dinner isn’t work and publishing those stories and photos are our privilege. We know the committee does a top-notch job because, after his longest night of the year, the Christmas Friendship Dinner is where Santa and Mrs. Claus park their keisters, handing out a few last gifts and enjoying Valley hospitality.

Whether you celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday or not, it’s a special day. Making it more special locally is that we can build and maintain a small-town sense of community in the state’s fastest growing area.

If you’re looking for a little extra Christmas spirit, you can find it at the sports center. We encourage all to stop by and enjoy a little time with their neighbors. We recall a story from last year’s dinner where a local senior citizen was near tears from happiness.

Seems the Valley came together to make what could have been a dreary and depressing holiday one she’ll never forget. First, she received a surprise visit from the Santa Cops (who do tremendous work delivering gifts to seniors on Christmas), then given a ride to the dinner. Volunteers share other inspiring stories about how the Christmas Friendship Dinner has affected Valley families in today’s newspaper.

If attending the community feed isn’t already a holiday tradition for your family, consider making it one beginning this year.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays.