“It was a crazy, beautiful day,” said Claire Sharp, co-director of the the Wimberley Community Thanksgiving Dinner held last week. For the privilege of basking in the warm embrace of community, more than 150 volunteers banded together to serve up the traditional meal of gratitude.
At 5 a.m., long before November 27 dawned, the dinner’s director, Chris Sharp, pulled up outside the Wimberley Community Center to fire up the ovens. An hour later, core members of the kitchen crew - Pascal Gauthier, Sarah Atwood, Scott Lorfing and Sally Hawkins - followed, well aware of what the next eight hours would bring. After a year’s worth of planning by organizers, the experienced crew readied themselves to serve some 950 traditional Thanksgiving dinners to Wimberley residents.
During the week leading up to the event, team leads spent long days getting ready. Kelly Evers, of Kelly’s Hill Country BBQ, smoked 36 turkeys. The set-up and decorating committees draped 30 banquet tables with warm orange cloths and centerpieces evocative of the season. Serving lines in the main dining room, as well as in a separate to-go and delivery staging area, were created along with side stations for desserts and drinks. A selfie wall, with an Autumn scene of trees turning colors, was set up so the day could be remembered.
