While most people will be in their homes carving turkey and drooling over pumpkin pie Thursday, hundreds will gather together for a Thanksgiving feast in Havre de Grace for the annual SMILES dinner at St. Patrick Church, as well as the Aberdeen community dinner at the Aberdeen Fire Department's hall.
Aberdeen's free annual community Thanksgiving dinner, sponsored by the Evangelistic Church of Deliverance, will be held noon-5 p.m. Nov. 24 at the Aberdeen fire hall, 21 N. Rogers St.
Havre de Grace High School's student community groups SMILES (Service Makes Individual Lives Extra Special) will hold its 24th annual dinner 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Thanksgiving day at St. Patrick Church Hall on Pennington Avenue, and is free to anyone in the community who wants a delicious meal and good company.
"It's become a real community event," said the group's founder, Don Osman. Osman, a former Havre de Grace teacher and Harford County Board of Education member, said 700 meals were served at last year's event, 500 of those being delivered to residents in Harford and Cecil counties.
Around 30 turkey breasts and 100 pies will be cooked by students and volunteers this year, he added. The group's vice president, Christopher Scott, spearheaded the event, which is run by about 100 volunteers.
In-school sponsor Elaine Bennett said this year is turning out to be an even bigger event than previous years, with a growing interest in the community for a hot meal. She wasn't sure if this was due to the economy, fewer families traveling or another factor. Either way, students and volunteers will have their hands full that day.
"They've been doing a lot of it," she said of the volunteers' hard work. "It's quite a production."