There’s a special warmth that comes with a big supper at the community hall.
The Ardmore Community Society put on its annual Christmas dinner Sunday, and the place was packed. Volunteers cooked and served meals for approximately 250 people. The hall was decorated for the occasion, including a chair of honour for Santa Claus to sit and have a chat with the many children in attendance.
It was a night for family, friends, and neighbours.
“It’s amazing. We were sold out by early afternoon yesterday,” said Community Society president Ann Kostyshyn. “We had to send people for more turkey, and they’ve just been running all day.”
Amid all the activity of keeping the buffet supplied, clearing dishes, fetching more cutlery, getting juice boxes for kids, and more, Kostyshyn was barely able to pause a couple minutes to speak to Respect. But she had a big smile on her face.
“We had to put on something like this for everyone to enjoy. And we have some amazing sponsors—we had somebody to sponsor all of our turkeys. We’ve had just dozens of sponsors. Nobody turned us down,” she said.
Volunteers had been peeling potatoes and carrots and setting up tables since Saturday. As the event got going on Sunday, more people stepped up to pitch in with whatever was needed.
Kostyshyn said nothing kindles the Christmassy feeling like genuine community spirit.
“It warms the heart to see everybody come out to have this kind of camaraderie and just visit and enjoy themselves,” she said.
