Preparations are underway for the annual Community Christmas Brunch, organized and sponsored by the Holiday Task Force, and the entire population is invited to drop by for a feast and lots of festive fun.
Organizing such a large endeavor is no short order to fill but it is one that Linda Wright, Holiday Task Force member and all-around community activist, is always ready to take on.
Wright may be very busy with a variety of other responsibilities, such as her role as the state president for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary, which is taking her all across Nevada, but she is still managing to find the time to help lead the charge in the effort to bring the Community Christmas Brunch back to the valley this year.
“We are all set to have our holiday meal served on Christmas Day and anyone who wants to come down and have a nice brunch with us is more than welcome,” Wright said on Monday, Dec. 17.
“We’ll have Christmas music for entertainment and Santa will be there to talk to both young and old, everyone will get to visit with Santa. And of course, we will have our meal, which is a breakfast brunch, with breakfast casserole, French toast sticks, biscuits and gravy, fruit cups, ham, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and apple cider.”
With the frigid winter months looming, Wright also made sure to note that the coat closet will be open and available to all Community Christmas Brunch attendees.
The coat closet is stocked with jackets, blankets and knitted hats of all sorts for those who need them. Best of all, the cold weather gear is all pre-laundered so attendees can use them the moment they have picked them out. This is just one more way of giving back to the community and ensuring everybody can enjoy a happy holiday, Wright said.
It was a close call this year though, Wright noted, with monetary issues nearly preventing the event from going forward. However, the Holiday Task Force was able to rally and is once again preparing for what has become a well-known and well-loved part of the Pahrump holiday tradition.
“We had a little problem financially this year and we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to put on the Community Christmas Brunch but, where there is a will, there is a way and everything fell into place, so we are very glad about that,” Wright detailed.
“We just hope that the donations continue to come in so we can continue to serve the community each year. We can always use donations, because we have Easter coming up here in a few months and then sooner than you know it, we will be back to the Thanksgiving and Christmas season again! So any donations are greatly appreciated. It does take a lot to put these things on.”
Outside of the financial aspect, manpower is also extremely important for making the annual holiday meal a success.
Volunteers are the backbone of the event, performing all of the tasks necessary when serving a meal to hundreds of community members and Wright said she is still in need of more volunteers for this Christmas’ event.
“Volunteers are a very big part of this event every year. We have our volunteers work as greeters and servers and at busing the tables. Cleanup in a really big place we need help on, because we never seem to have enough volunteers for that part,” Wright said, encouraging anyone with a few hours to give to consider volunteering for the brunch.
“We just hope everyone will come and enjoy Christmas together, make new friends and see old friends. We are looking forward to another special event this year,” she said in conclusion.
The Community Christmas Brunch will take place 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 25 at the NyE Communities Coalition Activities Center, 1020 E. Wilson Road in Pahrump.
For more information or to volunteer contact Wright at 775-419-7857.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com