BOWDEN — Edie and Gene Salé are ready to provide their third annual Christmas dinner in Bowden.
It will be held Dec. 24 from noon until 2 p.m. at the Bowden Event Centre (formerly known as the Bowden Friendship Club).
“Anyone is welcome of course,” Edie said during an interview with the Albertan.
She’s expecting a big turnout.
“The first year we had 37 people, and last year we had over 130,” Edie said. “The town office has been getting a lot of calls, and they expect more this year.”
She was asked if the Event Centre is big enough to hold the anticipated crowd.
Edie said it’s big enough for now, but if the crowd keeps going at its current pace, the dinner may have to be moved to the Paterson Community Centre.
About 15 volunteers are expected to help run the dinner this year, roughly the same as in previous years.
Edie said the same people help out every year and just seem to have that Christmas spirit.
The meal will be a traditional one, consisting of turkey, ham potatoes, stuffing, a couple of vegetables and a salad.
Unfortunately, Santa won’t be making an appearance, Edie said.
“I talked about it with the Lions Club here in Bowden. I thought about having gifts or something for kids, but with all the privacy laws now, they said they didn't think it was a good idea,” she said.
There will be music, but likely via CDs.
The Salés got the idea to start up the Christmas meal after retiring and moving to Bowden from Red Deer in 2019 to be closer to their grandchildren.
“My husband and I served with the Salvation Army for 18 years,” Edie said.
“A lot of seniors are alone at Christmas. And then of course, there's some families that you know probably can't afford the turkey and everything and come for dinners.
“Even if they're not poor whatever, per se, I don't want anybody to be alone having a meal alone at Christmas time.”
Organizing for the meal began back in about October.
