Community Notebook: CW Hosts Thanksgiving Service, WM Donates Meals

By Amber Lester Kennedy Wednesday, November 23, 2011

If you feel like getting out of the house once you’ve had your fill of turkey and football, Colonial Williamsburg will host an interfaith Thanksgiving service on Thursday. More than 100 families in need will eat a full Thanksgiving meal this week, thanks to William and Mary’s Campus Kitchen. And looking ahead, the Chamber seeks volunteers for its Christmas Parade. Read on for more details.

Colonial Williamsburg Hosts Thanksgiving Day Service

Williamsburg area religious leaders will conduct a Thanksgiving Day Service at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Play Booth Theatre on Palace Green in Colonial Williamsburg.

Interfaith prayers, seasonal hymns and Thanksgiving proclamations from the past and present will be featured.

In the event of rain, the service will be held in Bruton Parish Church. The service is open to the public; no ticket required.

WM Students provide Thanksgiving Meals

WM Senior Molly Bulman sorts donated items. Photo courtesy of William and Mary/Megan Shearin

William and Mary students collected, sorted and delivered hundreds of canned goods and other items as part of the school’s Campus Kitchen “Turkeypalooza” event.

The foods were paired with frozen turkeys and delivered to local residents on Friday and Tuesday nights. Altogether, the event is providing Thanksgiving meals to approximately 149 local residents this year.

The Campus Kitchen provides food to 180 individuals each week throughout the year, using food donated from stores including Trader Joe’s and Bloom. The student organization, one of 31 in the nation, started Turkeypalooza about two years ago.

In addition to private donations, the Campus Kitchen also received 2,681 donated items from the Black Law Students’ Association and the Office of Strategic Initiatives. Additionally, U.S. Army soldiers from Fort Eustis helped sort the donations and prepare them for delivery. Learn more about the effort and watch a video here.

James City, Williamsburg, York Offices Closed

Government offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

In James City County, courts will close at noon today and libraries close at 5 p.m. On Friday, the garbage transfer station and convenience centers will reopen Friday. Saturday will be a make-up recycling day.

Volunteer for Chamber Christmas Parade

The Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance is looking for volunteers to help stage the 2011 Williamsburg Area Christmas Parade on Dec. 3.

Volunteers are needed to assist with line-up, the parade route or dispersal. Line-up volunteers help with registration, line-up, clean up and traffic control. Parade route volunteers keep crowds back along the parade route, assist broken down units and direct the flow of the parade. Dispersal volunteers help disperse units, direct traffic, assist lost children and administer first aid.

Interested volunteers can contact Naomi Flythe at 229-2047 or email wacc@williamsburgcc.com. All volunteers receive a Christmas Parade sweatshirt.

Old Point Bank Donates to Fire Department

Old Point National Bank donated $1,000 to the James City County Bruton Volunteer Fire Department at their Fish Fry in October.

Fire Department President Phillip Murdock (far left) accepted the check from Sylvia Hazelwood, branch officer of the Old Point National Bank in Norge and Louis G. Morris, president and CEO of Old Point National Bank.