NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Oct. 24.
Autumn harvest dinners and festivals will open the feasting season this weekend with gatherings, including the 80th installment of a Forks community tradition today, as well as banquets in Port Angeles on Saturday and Port Townsend on Nov. 1.
Port Angeles Harvest Benefit
Park View Villas and Jim’s Pharmacy will host the seventh annual Harvest Benefit Dinner in Port Angeles this coming Saturday.
It will be held at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The menu includes prime rib, pork loin, roasted potatoes, family-style green salad, butternut squash soup, green bean almondine, pumpkin cheesecake, carrot cake, sparkling apple cider, beer and wine.
Music will be provided by Luck of the Draw.
The event will include a silent auction, raffle prizes — including a $1,000 Seahawks game and tailgate party package — and a “kiss the pig” contest.
Tickets are $20 and include two drinks.
Tickets are available at Park View Villas, 1430 Park View Lane; Jim’s Pharmacy, 424 E. Second St.; and the Port Angeles Senior Center, 328 E. Seventh St.
Proceeds from this annual event help support the senior center.
For more information, phone the center at 360-457-7004.
Forks Harvest Dinner
The 80th annual Harvest Dinner in Forks will be held in the Congregational Church Fellowship Hall, 280 S. Spartan Ave., from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. today.
The dinner was first held in 1934 as a community potluck, with residents providing elk, venison and salmon, said Warren Johnson, chairman of the dinner committee and a volunteer at the event for 25 years.
Today, the salmon and turkey are provided by the Harvest Dinner committee, but the pies and salads are brought in by volunteers, Johnson said.
The cost of the dinner is $10 for adults and $6 for children ages 4-12 and senior citizens older than 60.
Family passes are available for $35.
Proceeds from the dinner go to the church’s building fund and help defer the insurance cost of hosting nonprofit groups free of charge.
The menu is roasted turkey, stuffing, baked salmon, sweet potatoes, salad, cranberries, green beans, trimmings and apple and pumpkin pie.
Johnson said the food is locally purchased or donated.
Coho salmon is purchased from Neah Bay fishermen.
Organizers also purchased two cases of sweet potatoes, and 40 bags of stuffing are donated by residents.
“It’s really a community undertaking,” Johnson said.
People call ahead to ask if they are needed to bring a salad or pie, he said.
There are three waves of diners at the Harvest Dinner.
At 4:30 p.m. when the doors open, many of the community elders arrive, but they leave early to get home before the sun sets, Johnson said.
He said people who get off work at 5 p.m. arrive at 5:30, and people who get off at 6 p.m. arrive at about 6:30.
“We feed 400 people in three hours,” Johnson said.
In the past, the event was held in conjunction with the Forks High School homecoming football game, but that changed last year, he said.
Diners found themselves rushed to eat before heading to the big game, he said, and didn’t really get to enjoy the camaraderie of the community feast.
Last year, the Harvest Dinner was moved to a different weekend, and the entire atmosphere changed.
“It was more relaxed. They could sit with their friends and neighbors and enjoy themselves,” Johnson said.
In 2013, they ran out of coffee and punch for the first time Johnson could remember in his 25 years as an organizer.
For more information or to volunteer at the dinner, donate a salad, make a pie or make a donation, phone Warren or Cathy Johnson at 360-374-9382.
Port Townsend Harvest Festival
A Harvest Festival for All Saints will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1020 Jefferson St. in Port Townsend, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1.
Admission is a suggested donation of $10. Kids 13 and younger are admitted free.
In celebration of the fruitfulness of the year and of loved ones present and past, the entire community is welcome to a festival of food, music, crafts and crafting for the holidays, according to a news release.
Festival highlights will include cider pressing, live music and square dancing, craft selling with local artists and a remembrance garden.
For more information, phone 360-385-0770, email tanyambarnett@gmail.com or visit www.stpaulspt.org.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
