Longtime organizer hopes someone new steps up for 2024
An annual holiday tradition won’t be available in Altona this year.
For over 35 years, area residents have been able to partake in a free community holiday feast thanks to a group of volunteers who wanted to provide a place for everyone to go on Christmas Day.
“Many do not have family to spend that day with, so it was always a place to find fellowship and good food on a day that is meant for just that,” says Ang Stoesz, who has led the organization of the annual event for most of those years.
The decision to forgo the dinner this year was not an easy one, she says.
“We did not take this decision lightly. A few of us had been running it for a very long time. We talked about it last year and we would do one more dinner after COVID ended, but then we wanted to pass it on. We were ready to step back.
“So I said, at some point we have to make the decision. We were getting tired. It was time for a change. The hope was that another organization would pick it up, but we knew if we did not step down, it would never happen.”
Since planning the event already begins in September, it is likely too late for a new group to organize a meal for this Christmas, Stoesz says, but if another team of volunteers are willing to take it on for 2024, she is happy to be a resource for the new group.
“It was the organization that needed a change. I have many years of notes that would be happy to share with the new group. I am confident that someone will step up. And it might look different. It might even be on a different day. But things change and evolve. With fresh energy and ideas, it can all be a good thing.”
The Altona Christmas dinner was started at the Four Winds Restaurant by owners Oliver and Sharon Nelson. Because of space and demand, it eventually was taken over by a volunteer group and run out of the W.C. Miller Collegiate cafeteria for many years before ultimately being held at the Rhineland Pioneer Centre.
After missing a few years due to the pandemic, last year’s return of the dinner saw 275 people attend.
“One year we had over 300,” recalls Stoesz. “It’s always well attended.”
Rallying volunteers for the event was never a problem, Stoesz notes.
“We had a list of church contacts. People always stepped up to the plate. For some, helping with this meal became an annual Christmas tradition for many families and individuals. And cash donations from area churches to cover the meal were always generous.
“We are grateful for all the support through the years, and now we’re eager to see where another group will take this.”
