More than 650 people attended an Easter dinner at the Elks Lodge in Ishpeming. (Courtesy photo)

ISHPEMING — Dawn Lambert, the Ishpeming Elks Lodge, and a band of volunteers served up an Easter dinner for the community on Easter Sunday. It builds on a tradition they’ve been building for the past two decades.

The volunteers, with funding from an Elks grant and donations from the community have been bringing folks together at the holidays for food and fellowship. Dinner is free and open to the public. The group has been serving meals on Christmas Day for 18 years and Thanksgiving Day for 5 years. This was the first year for the Friends Helping Friends Community Easter Dinner.

“I thought for awhile, it was time to cover the other major holiday. So, this was the year,” Lambert said. “The response was phenomenal. When we started planning (the Easter dinner), I thought we’d get maybe 300 people. We ended up with more than 650 people.”

The group served 425 take-out dinners and 225 folks dined in at the Elks Lodge.

“We had families of 5 or 6 and many individuals. It’s a variety of people. We had more people dine-in than usual,” Lambert said. “Some people stayed after dinner and just enjoyed sitting and visiting.” The volunteer crew cooks and serves all the food themselves, while the Elks provide the spacious venue. “This event wouldn’t happen without the support of the Elks and all our generous volunteers.”

Diners were treated to ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, glazed carrots, dinner rolls, and carrot cake for dessert. And people came in from all across Marquette County, not just from Ishpeming.

Due to the wonderful response to the dinner, Lambert said it is certain to become an annual event. “I’m already thinking about what we may do differently next time. “

The volunteers provided take-out, as well as, dine-in for Easter, but didn’t do deliveries, which they traditionally do at Thanksgiving and Christmas. But, it is something they may consider adding in the future.

“it just makes me feel good to know people have a warm meal and someone to talk to at the holidays. “They’re not alone,” Lambert said.