The Elora Cooperative Preschool is getting stirred up to create its most anticipated and community-friendly fund-raising event of the year, the spaghetti dinner.
Held at the Elora community centre on March 6 from 4:30 to 7:30pm, the event promises to be a great feast.
Now more than 15 years old, the dinner has become a family tradition. People come to show their support of the unique co-op school that has helped raise a village, literally, over the span of 36 years, including former students who now have children of their own returning to enjoy quality time with the same teacher who taught them their ABCs, Miss Debbie (Moodie-Bianchi), and her devoted staff.
Once a year, parent volunteers of the preschool, the last of it’s kind in Wellington County, roll up sleeves and tie up aprons to serve – and raise money, too. An expected 450 people will dine, with an opportunity to participate in a silent auction that is loaded with donated items big and small.
Fundraising chairman Carrie Rys said this year’s event is going local. “We are only approaching local businesses and people have really responded to that. I think it’s important that we stay close. The businesses appreciate what our little school means to this community, and we appreciate their support too.”
Harvest Table, of Elora and Parker, has come on board with local food support, acting as one of the main sponsors. That generosity has been met with dedication and skill of local Chefs from Whispers Restaurant and Cork, while more food donations have been offered from Gorge Country Kitchen, L&M, and the Uptown Café, to name a few. Centre Wellington District High School food school is offering student-made breads.
“This is a community event and that’s the most important thing about the dinner,” said Rys. “Sure we want to raise some money for programming and operating costs of the school, but really, this is about sitting together, sharing food, being a community. This is a the place we want to raise our children, and this is why, because it is a community that supports one another.”
Author and Canadian culinary activist Anita Stewart, credits the school with igniting the start of her culinary career, which has led her to promote local food and values of Canadian food traditions.
In 1974, she coordinated a fundraising cookbook for the school, Juice and Cookies, a hand-written, photocopy bound book of donated recipes from parents.
It was the basis for community then, and Stewart’s philosophy about the value of the spaghetti dinner encapsulates the same message.
“You grow with the community when you grow in a place like this,” she said. “It’s a delicious way of building a community. Food is the heart of a culture and this is what it is all about. Plus, this is all Canadian food. It’s fabulous.”
Tickets are $10 for adults, $4 for children, (under age 4 eat free).
Tickets can be purchased in advance at Scotia Bank in Fergus, which will match funds, or they can be bought at the door. Take-out orders are available. For more information, contact Carrie Rys at 519-846-9333.
