As Family of Woodstock seeks volunteers for its 36th annual Thanksgiving Feast at the Mescal Hornbeck Community Center in Woodstock, event director Chester Pertchik notes the egalitarian nature of the feast. “We have people of every political and religious belief, race, sexual orientation, financial bracket. There are people who come in from New Jersey, Manhattan, Long Island. Someone once flew in from the Middle East. The purpose is so all these people can sit down and break bread together — it’s incredibly unifying and healing when there’s no other agenda besides eating together.”
Volunteer Susan Goldman agrees, “One of nice things about this event is that everybody comes. It’s not just for people who can’t afford to put together a dinner or can’t cook at home or are all alone. It doesn’t have that feel. People who’ve just moved to the area meet people, and people who’ve been around a long time get to see their friends.”
The feast is fun, but so is volunteering, says Pertchik, proprietor of Upstate Signs, who has been running the event for the past seven or eight years. “It’s a real gift to me,” he says. “It’s so incredibly satisfying.” Volunteers include even out-of-towners who come up with their kids. “The trip is about seeing Woodstock,” he notes, “but they also want to be involved in doing something, feel like they’re part of something. There’s plenty to do.”
With the increase in people using Family’s food pantry since Hurricane Irene, Goldman expects more guest than ever at the feast, which served over 400 meals last year. Volunteers are needed to cook, set up, serve, and clean up. All kinds of food are welcome, says Pertchik, from the traditional turkey and stuffing to vegetarian and vegan, kosher and Halal. Especially needed are people who are willing to cook turkeys in their own ovens on Thanksgiving morning, as there are usually more turkeys donated than available cooks.
As usual, there will also be donations of food from restaurants and bakeries. Often, says Pertchik, “One of the great chefs of the Hudson Valley will arrive in whites with a huge something or other over his shoulder. Once a chef brought a huge poached salmon — it was a show stopper and got a standing ovation. One of the bakeries donates 100 loaves of bread. Hardware stores donate plastic bags and a generator. A gallery gives us beverages.”
Although Pertchik is coordinating, he emphasizes, “It’s a community event, and no one person is responsible. If I were to be abducted by aliens, the event would self-assemble like a protein.” He reads off the names and titles of people who are already hard at work on preparations. Family of Woodstock director Tamara Cooper is directly involved with every aspect of the feast, and Pertchik has dubbed her Supreme Allied Commander. Goldman, in charge of publicity, is Master of Propaganda. Ruth Bayl, Personnel Director, supervises the volunteers. Maria Ferguson is Kitchen Queen, Renee Englander is Tart Wrangler, and Lisa Childers is Director of Interior Decoration. Lisa Dorling is Minister of Setting Up Tables and Chairs. “I actually do use these terms,” insists Pertchik, who also gives credit to Mark Braunstein of Markertek, supplier of paper goods each year. Place mats and table decorations are made by children at the Woodstock Elementary School. The last few years, teens and pre-teens have carried trays of hors d’oeuvres to people waiting on line to eat. The line generally goes out the door and into the street, says Pertchik.
In addition to feeding people at the community center, volunteers take meals out to police, emergency personnel, and people staffing Family’s hotline, as well as residents who can’t get out of their homes.
Musical entertainment is supplied, but Goldman says they never know what kind to
expect. “People just show up with instruments. Sometimes well-known musicians come by — one year Tom Pacheco played.”
Adds Pertchik, “The purpose is for Family of Woodstock to thank the community for their support throughout the year.”++
Family of Woodstock will hold its 36th annual Thanksgiving Feast 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, November 24 at the Mescal Hornbeck Community Center on Rock City Road in Woodstock. There is no charge for admission or for food. To donate, to volunteer, or for further information, contact Family at 679-2485 or 338-2370, and ask for Ruth.
Join the family! 
