The Golden Rod Community Association (GRCA) plans to breath new life into a forsaken tradition in Airdrie and surrounding area, offering a fall supper Nov. 3.
"My experience with any community meal is that people are just happy when they're visiting over food," said Kathleen Raines, GRCA president and event co-organizer. "It's a chance for us to get to know each other better and to renew acquanitences."
Raine said she has fond recollections of past fall suppers hosted by the United Church occuring in Airdrie near the end of the harvest season.
"I remember going to those suppers as a kid," she said. "I was one of the 4H members who did babysitting...and one of the kids' jobs was always clearing the tables and washing dishes. I remember doing that for many fall suppers, too."
After living for a number of years west of Innisfail, Raine recently moved back to the Airdrie area and said she noticed the absence of the annual tradition.
"I moved from a community that has kept this fall supper tradition alive," she said. "Pretty much every week from mid-October to mid-November, there's a community supper somewhere, and I missed that when I came back here."
When the topic of fall suppers came up during a GRCA discussion, Raine said, the association was enthusiastic about trying to bring the tradition back.These meetings were a chance for the community to get together, make connections and celebrate the harvest, she said. While Airdrie has become more urban in the intervening years, with many residents disconnected from the agriculture occuring outside the city limits, she hopes this event will foster connections.
"[Fall supper's were] a really good chance for people to get together and visit," she said. "Primarily, we just hope people come and enjoy the afternoon and visit."
The Nov. 3 event will take place at the Golden Rod Hall west of Airdrie, at the intersection of Highway 567 and Symons Valley Road. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m., Raine said, with dinner served at 5:30 p.m.
The meal will feature a turkey dinner, accompanied by mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, stuffing and gravy. While health regulations dictate volunteers can't supply the main courses, Raine said, homemade desserts are still allowed, and plenty of people have signed up to supply their signature sweet treats to conclude the meal.
Other groups have partnered with GRCA, she said – Harmony Catering will prepare the turkeys, and the Airdrie 4H Beef and Sheep Club is taking care of set up and clean up."One of the reasons we stopped doing a fall supper at the hall is because it got to big for us to handle," Raine said. "Physically, our hall's not really big; we can fit 100 people in there for supper. That's why, for this supper, we've decided you have to buy a ticket. Traditionally, a fall supper, you just came to the door, and you might have had to wait in line for a while, but you would have got to eat."
Tickets cost $20 per adult, $10 for children aged six to 12, and $5 for children under five. A family rate is also available, Raine said - $50 for two adults and two children. Tickets are available until Oct. 25, while supplies last, and can be purchased by calling 403-948-2618 or emailing [email protected]
A $5 portion of each ticket sale will go to the Airdrie Lionness Club's Christmas Hamper Foundation. Several members of GRCA are also involved with the club, Raine said, and the hamper program is "meeting some important objectives in our community."
Depending on the success of this year's event, she said, GRCA intends to make the fall supper an annual occurance.
