This was the fifth year for the event, which is free to the public. At the dinner there were about 185 turkeys, 300 pounds of stuffing, 425 green bean casseroles, 105 gallons of cranberry sauce, fresh baked rolls and endless pumpkin & pecan pies. Not to mention hundreds of gallons of sweat-tea to wash it all down. It all starts around midnight, the night before, when a loyal group of volunteer cooks start the process and do not stop until everyone is feed.
Volunteers start arriving early Thanksgiving morning to start and set the tables. Nothing is overlooked to make sure that the tables and serving areas are festive affairs, filling them with flower bouquets and cornucopias over flowing with fruits & nuts. Volunteers help to organize the food, so each serving area is stocked properly. And a course there is an army of volunteers to carve up old ‘tom turkey’, who has been slowly roasting in huge rotisseries and smokers.
You never know who may be serving or sitting next to you. This is not a case of the haves doing for the have-not's ~ This is everyone in the community coming together at one table in the old tradition of this holiday and giving thanks. Much like the original Thanksgiving dinner back in 1621, the community of Aiken , SC
Job well done OneTable.org ~ I look forward to helping again next year!
George's notes:
- I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.
- If you want to know more about this very special event, visit www.onetable.org .
- Here are the links from local newspapers regarding this incredible event in The Aiken Standard and The Augusta (GA) Chronicle.
- Possibly you can get an event like this started in your community.
- You can click on the photos to enlarge and get a better feel of the event.
Lovely idea, George.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely idea and what a wonderful town you live in. I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you shared this with us, George. Such an outpouring of community is never seen in some places. It is lovely to know that it still exists. Having been a part of it, I suspect you had one of your best celebrations ever. It's wonderful to be able to give back to the community you love. This is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteOh, my spirits were lifted just reading all these links and your post this morning. What a wonderful thing....so rare...community coming together to 'sit at one table'. An amazing feat truly...glad you were able to receive the blessings of being a part of something so wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThis is truly the spirit of Thanksgiving. I used to volunteer at our local community dinner. You've inspired me to consider doing that next year. It's such a sense of "giving" when we feed people from all walks of life. How lovely that you were a part of making someone's Thanksgiving very special.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great thing to do, George. My family has been wanting to do this this very thing. We have a couple of different places in our town where a person can volunter to serve meals like this. What a blessing for you and for those you serve!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful idea George...Really enjoyed reading :-) We had a great thanksgiving too !
ReplyDeleteGeorge ,thanks for sharing the wonderful photos of your community.
ReplyDeleteIan
oh this is a wonderful event
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful event and such a great tradition. Good for you to help out!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing community event! Looks like you had wonderful weather for it too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely event. I've never heard of one like it.
ReplyDelete