The Community Christmas Eve Dinner hosted by the Pahrump Holiday Task Force is expected to welcome hundreds of hungry attendees Friday throughout the three-hour event. There will be plenty on the buffet line to tempt the appetite.
The meal will include ham, sweet potatoes, vegetables and cornbread, Pahrump Holiday Task Force Chair Linda Wright said. For dessert, volunteers will serve an assortment of pies, with whipped cream on the side.
There will be entertainment to keep attendees bopping in their seats and dancing in the aisles. Musical duo J&D will dee-jay.
“They’ll be playing a mixture of Christmas tunes and other types of music, from all kinds of genres,” Wright said. “They will even take requests, so guests, don’t be shy.”
While the event is set to take place on Santa’s busiest day of the year, the big man in the red suit has still managed to set aside some time to make a special trip to the event.
“It’s Christmastime, so of course Santa will be there, and you never know what he might have in his bag,” Wright said.
One of the other major efforts the Pahrump Holiday Task Force undertakes each year just before its Christmas event is a coat drive. About a month ago, members set up collection boxes around the community for people to donate items to help others stay warm this winter.
“We’ve already got a lot that has been donated and I have been handling all of the cleaning myself,” Wright said. “I have a huge washer and dryer and so all of those items will be freshly laundered for people, they can just grab them and use them right away. We have knitted hats, blankets and some gloves that were donated. We also have a variety of jackets and light sweatshirts, so we have a good selection. We checked them all out, to make sure they were all in good repair and we even had a few brand new ones donated. They range from light jackets to medium weight to heavy coats to denim to lighter sweaters, all kinds.”
Attendees can browse the coat room during the event to browse through the array of items that are being made available,to shop for free items.
Additional volunteers are appreciated, Wright said.
“We need servers, we need people helping in the kitchen, we need greeters and people to help in the coat room, we need people to man the drink station, just all-around kind of volunteers to help with everything that is going on,” she said.
Wright emphasized that the Community Christmas Eve Dinner is just that, an event for the entire community, regardless of financial need or lack thereof. The event is simply meant as a way to foster camaraderie and connection between the members of the community.
“We bring people together. We do it out of love for our community, this is why we do what we do. It’s about bringing the community of Pahrump together, to celebrate these special holidays with each other,” Wright said. “We look forward to having everyone out on Christmas Eve for a wonderful dinner!”
The Community Christmas Eve Dinner is Friday, Dec. 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the NyE Communities Coalition, 1020 E. Wilson Road.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com.