The vehicles traveled more than 3 kilometres along a rural road in Manitoba on the last Sunday afternoon in September while their occupants waited for a classic Ukrainian dinner in a brown bag to go.
Pansy Community Hall, about 90 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg, ran out of fried chicken, butgies, cabbage rolls and treats until 4:30 p. m.
“We’ll probably drive at least a hundred vehicles,” said Leanne Germain, president of Pansy Hall and one of the organizers of her famous annual autumn dinner. “That’s the most painful part. “
Autumn dinners are a long-standing culture at harvest time in the meadows, but the food served as a buffet and eaten at long communal tables is a no-no in the COVID-19 era.
Community centers and churches have fulfilled their driving style.
This was a form of some of the sources of income that the pandemic has mined through marriages, banquets, and meetings.
“We need to be provided on our network. We need to see our network rooms closed. We like to feed people,” Germain said.
In total, Pansy Hall controlled to serve more than 700 people at this year’s dinner, before the pandemic, that number would have been 1,500.
Some of this year’s participants traveled in motorhomes or off-road vehicles, many brought garden chairs and ate outdoors in a nearby green space.
“If we had to do that again, we now know we can prepare for 1,000 or 1,200 people,” Germain said.
“We just didn’t know if other people were going to come and support us, but they did. They were a force to consider.
Irene Schmidtke, one of the other people who left Pansy’s dinner empty-handed.
“I queued to wait for them, then someone joined us and told us they were sold. “
Schmidtke is hosting an after-stage dinner at noon at the Friedensfeld Community Center south of Steinbach on October 25. She had planned to serve 400 people, but as she witnessed Pansy’s popularity firsthand, she wondered if she would grow up.
“We don’t know, ” he said. “It’s a bet. “
Ms. Schmidtke said that autumn dinners are very vital in her apartment position and that other people come from Winnipeg by bus.
“They have your favorites and everyone will eat,” he said. That’s what you’re doing here. You’re waiting for them. “
Heritage United Church in Regina has been autumn dinners for 3 decades, and the pandemic is not preventing it from continuing culture this year.
“It’s a favorite activity. It’s a time when all families combine and eat and it’s a pretty massive production,” Reverend Joy Cowan said.
Volunteers delivered turkey packages and all accessories ordered in advance in the church parking lot this weekend.
The 250 foods he had reserved for Saturday sold out, so the church had to enlarge until Sunday.
“It’s amazing how churches innovate. The pandemic invites us to check out new things,” Cowan said.
“It’s fun to be able to see anything ready to use and also serve our community. “
This report through The Canadian Press was first published on October 4, 2020