INNISFAIL - Hundreds of Innisfailians packed the legion auditorium last week for a time-honoured autumn tradition to celebrate the recent pleasant warm fall weather, the big push towards the end of the harvest season for farmers, and a welcome chance to mingle with old friends.
The annual two-hour turkey dinner, typically held in late October after Thanksgiving and a fundraiser for the Innisfail United Church, has been a fixture for the community for more than 30 years, a golden opportunity for locals to reconnect with old friends and neighbours before the cold settles in for the long Central Alberta winter.
"It's a celebration of our farmers for the most part taking off the harvest if they can, and it's a chance to celebrate and be together," said the church's Rev. Sarah Fanning, who joyfully greeted the hundreds of guests at the buffet area inside the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion on Oct. 23. "It's the many hands that make light work. I am looking behind me and here in the kitchen and the folks come together and just pitch in and help and really be part of.
"For me, this is living out our faith. This is not just Sunday morning. It is how we take it out into the world," added Fanning. "It's great to see people from all over. Some of them I've know from funerals unfortunately. It is nice to be able to connect at something at a little happier occasion, and seeing people come out and not only enjoying the food but enjoying talking to each other. That for me is real testament that you end up sitting next to somebody you might not know and striking up a conversation."
In recent past years the event was held at the church but Fanning said it was decided to switch back to the legion because there is more space, enough to accommodate up to 700 people.
"It lets us serve more people, which is fabulous. A lot of the cooking of course is done in our United Church kitchen and then brought over. A lot of it is done on site but this lets us feed more people," said Fanning.
She said organizers were expecting between 600 and 700 guests for this year's event, the largest fundraiser of the year for the church. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $6 for children between the ages of 6 and 12. Children five and under were admitted free of charge.
"After all the expenses are done hopefully we will clear quite a bit," said Fanning. "Certainly it is the biggest one. We have other small ones throughout the year but this would be our biggest."
Bob Zinken, a co-coordinator for the event, said the turkey dinner was expected to raise up to the "high four-digit figures" for the church. He said the event's success was due to the dedication of the many hard-working volunteers.
"We have a great volunteer base. We end up with the Girl Guides involved, with between 60 to 70 volunteers to put on this two-hour turkey supper," said Zinken, adding the event is special for every person involved.
"It is called stewardship. There are so many people who come out," he said. "They like to see their friends, sometimes only once a year. Some of the volunteers only show up once a year just to help for this, and they are proud of it."
