We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
The Thanksgiving Community Dinner crew gather for a picture prior to opening the Chinook Senior Center doors for the annual Thanksgiving community dinner. Nearly 60 take out orders were delivered prior to the Noon opening and nearly 100 diners sat down to eat at this fantastic community event.
Friday afternoon the 34th Annual Parade of Lights and Christmas Stroll got underway in downtown Chinook. Vendors were mainly located in the Wallner Hall building allowing for strollers to stay warm while they looked through the goods. The Parade of Lights began shortly after 6:00 p.m. and featured a good number of floats. The Eagles Club hosted a Taco Feed and the Festival of Trees Live Auction closed out the evenings scheduled events.
The Community Thanksgiving Dinner in Chinook has been a long standing traditional gathering for more than three decades. Through the years a number of superb community minded individuals, groups and families have hosted the event. This years group was headed up by Mark and Betty Billmayer, Jay Eslick and Kathy O'Brien.
In addition several familiar faces joined them in making the day run smoothly, including Larry Wisch, who has been on hand in some capacity for nearly every dinner service in those thirty plus years. Wilma and Perry Alcorn have been in charge of delivering the meals for more than 20 years now. Because they're always out delivering they aren't included in the annual picture. Their service is immensely appreciated and nearly half of those served are because of the service they provide.
This year seven turkeys were served as well as 28 wonderful homemade pies donated by some amazing community bakers.
The gathering at the senior center included a nice mix of families, individual diners looking to share the day with others as well as the youngest of children and the wisest of seniors. A good time was had by all, and everyone enjoyed a good meal.
The day after Thanksgiving is a crazy day throughout the country with 'Black Friday', but in Chinook it has seen the community embrace the holiday season with the 'Parade of Lights'. This past Friday marked the 34th time the event has taken place and while the weather wasn't the kindest, in true Montana fashion, the community made it work.
Santa was on hand at the Blaine County Museum for the youngsters to stop by and visit. The Blaine County Museum was open for those in town for the Thanksgiving holiday to have the opportunity to visit.
Wallner Hall was filled with vendors offering plenty of great ideas for Christmas shoppers or in general for that matter.
The 9th Annual Festival of Trees also took place with a silent auction being held during the day and a live auction held later in the evening. Money raised from the Festival of Trees auctions will go to upkeep of the snowflakes on main street and the P.A.W.S. Animal Shelter.
The Parade of Lights got started shortly after 6:00 p.m. with number of unique floats and holiday spirited riders and walkers alike. Following the parade the Chinook Eagles Club held a Taco Feed and offered up plenty of spirits and a warm atmosphere for patrons to warm up as they prepared for the live auction at the conclusion of the scheduled events.
Social gatherings went on deep into the night and a good time and good start to the holiday season was had by all who attended.
