The Community
Dinner at All Saints Anglican Church isn’t just about good food. It is an
opportunity to feel the bonds that make Erin strong – and a chance to have some
fun, testing your luck and mental agility at a Games Night.
“It was
important to us to create a social event with no strings attached, where you
can come and meet people,” said Kathryn Dancey, who has helped organize the
dinner.
It is held in
the church basement at 81 Main Street in Erin, normally on the last Friday of
each month, starting at 6 pm. Everyone is welcome.
The event has
grown in popularity since it started in December 2010, with about 90 people now
attending each month.
“It’s free, with
no sermons,” said Rev. Susan Wilson, Rector at All Saints. “Just a nourishing
meal and good fellowship.”
There’s a basket
near the door for those who wish to make a contribution. Donations more than
cover the cost of putting on the dinner. The committee of volunteers has been
able to donate back to the Erin community, including the East Wellington
Community Services Food Bank, the Special Friends Club, the ARC Industries building
fund, the Erin Skate Park and the Upper Credit Humane Society.
Last Friday they
served spaghetti and meatballs with salad, and apple crisp for dessert, and for
the third month now, dinner was followed by a Games Night. It was organized by
Chris Bailey and Stephanie Giugovaz, who offer toys, games, tutoring and camps
at the nearby Brighten Up store.
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Chris Bailey of Brighten Up teaches a card game to kids at the Games Night, following last week’s Community Dinner at All Saints Church. |
No kittens were
actually harmed when we played Kittens in a Blender, an easy-to-learn card game
that challenges you to save as many of your own kittens as possible, even while
trading your hands with other players.
I enjoy board
and card games, but rarely have a group of people to play them with, so this is
a nice opportunity to meet people and have a few laughs. It is also a chance to
play a game that you are not sure about buying.
“We get to open
games we want to try,” said Stephanie. “We pick the shorter, easier games.”
I actually won a
round of Rack-o, where you have pick either a turned-up card or one from the
pile, hoping to get as many cards a possible in ascending order. Like most
entertaining games, it combines luck with strategy, and all the rules can be
learned in less than a minute.
Next time, maybe
I will play The Magic Labyrinth, which looks a bit harder since you have to
figure your way through a maze that is hidden on the lower level of a two-layer
game board. You move a magnet piece on the top that carries a steel ball on the
bottom.
Every time a player hits an unseen wall, the
ball drops and rolls back to the beginning. It’s a bit like real life – if you
can remember the location of the walls, you don’t bump into them the next time
around.