Traditional dinner serves up joy, fellowship

Being surrounded by loved ones while eating a hot meal at the 40th anniversary of the Westman and Area Traditional Christmas Dinner meant Debbie Brandt didn’t have to spend the day alone.

She was one of about 1,500 people who gathered among friends and family to rejoice in the holiday spirit and connect with people in the community at the Victoria Inn on Christmas Day.

“I already celebrated Christmas, so today is kind of nice, you know, that I can not be alone and be with my close friends,” Brandt said, adding that this was her first time going to the traditional dinner.

On the other side of the Imperial Ballroom, which was set up with 30 tables adorned with poinsettias, sat Sharen Inkpaduta and her husband, who have eaten at the annual dinner for a couple years.

“It’s a get-together and I enjoy the music they have here,” Inkpaduta said as a choir of 45 people from a southwestern Hutterite colony sang on a set of bleachers in the background.

“We’re getting older, so we kind of don’t want to cook right now,” she said.

Brandt and Inkpaduta both shared how grateful they were for the hundreds of volunteers who help greet guests and serve, clean up, package and deliver meals each year.

Xiru Yan said she decided to volunteer for the second consecutive year because she resonated with the idea that people who may feel lonely on Christmas Day have a place to go.

Yan said she understands what it’s like to be alone on Dec. 25 after she moved away from her family in China two years ago.

She likened Christmas celebrations to those of the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, where friends and families gather together.

“I really, really don’t want to be alone during this day,” she said while packaging meals expected to go out for delivery later that afternoon. “I also miss my family, so that’s why I come here and spend time with people … to make me feel better.”

The Plante family said they have been volunteering at the traditional dinner for a decade.

“We think it’s a really good way to support the community,” said Andrea Plante, while tearing up.

Andrea and her husband Marc thought it would be meaningful for their three children to learn the importance of giving back at a young age, and now their kids continue to volunteer at the dinner as adults with their partners.

Husband and wife Rick and Paddy White have also spent their Christmases volunteering for the last 10 years.

“It’s a different way of celebrating Christmas Day,” Paddy said.

“We enjoy coming here and being a part of this, and seeing, you know, people who maybe don’t have families as well, come in and enjoy the day.”

The married couple arrived at the Imperial Ballroom before 11 a.m. after driving from Oak Lake. Paddy was assigned to help scrape plates and wash the dishes, whereas Rick was tasked with serving people at their tables.

“This is just one of those things about Westman that is outstanding,” Rick said.

“The group that puts this on works all year to get it ready.”

Friends and former nursing co-workers Paulette Fowell and Marg Bate stood before two giant pots, stirring 80 gallons of gravy in the kitchen.

“I think it’s great that we can do something, even if we burn the gravy,” said Bate with a chuckle.

This was her first year volunteering.

Fowell, who has been helping at the Christmas dinner for five years, said it feels good to participate and spread joy.

“I keep coming back because it’s important to help those who are maybe not having their best Christmas, and it’s a place for them to have fellowship with other people in the same boat,” she said.

It’s nice to have a steady list of volunteers who continue to give their time, said Terry Browett, who oversees packagers and delivery drivers that sent out 1,500 meals to people around Brandon.

“It’s something that people literally look forward to every year,” he said.

“We have new volunteers every year, but we have a lot of the traditional volunteers and … I think they would be sad to not have this to come to.”

Planning committee chair Gladden Smith said the annual tradition means a lot to people in the community.

“People are so grateful in the community for the dinner,” said Smith, who has been volunteering for the Christmas dinner for more than 35 years.

The event has been around since 1985 when Rocky Addison and his family and friends served Christmas dinner to about 30 people in the basement of a church in Brandon.

Since then, the dinner has outgrown the church and has been held at the Prairie Oasis Senior Centre, Keystone Centre and in the Grand Salon at the Victoria Inn.

The Keystone Centre has hosted the traditional dinner since 2022, but in early November the planning committee was informed the venue was unavailable, Smith said.

This is the first year the dinner was set up in the Imperial Ballroom at the hotel, he said.

About 240 people were seated at a time in the ballroom.

There were about 350 volunteers who helped make the dinner possible, including 40 delivery drivers.

Members of the Hutterite colony cooked 900 pounds of potatoes, 80 gallons of gravy, 15 cases of frozen vegetables, 2,500 buns and 30 turkeys, Smith said.

Students in the culinary arts program at Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School and people at the Brandon Correctional Centre cooked 60 turkeys each.

Maple Leaf Foods donated 600 pounds of ham that was sent to East 40 Packers Ltd. for curing and smoking.

Smith also picked up 2,000 oranges and 2,000 desserts to be served at the dinner.

He recognizes all the volunteers and more than 50 businesses and organizations that donated or put in hard work to make the dinner possible.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com