If you’ve been taking in all the events and entertainment on Pitt Meadows Day, you are going to work up an appetite, so it’s worthwhile staying around until late afternoon to savour a long-standing local tradition.
Starting at 5 p.m. and continuing to 7 p.m., the Chicken and Salmon Barbecue Dinner goes at Pitt Meadows Heritage Hall.
The dinner is hosted by the Pitt Meadows Day Society and volunteers such as society president Janet Melissen devote hours, starting in January, to organizing the feast.
Cooking up a dinner for up to 800 people requires a lot of organization and preparation, including the purchasing of supplies. About 160 kilograms’ worth of chicken is brought in and barbecued by Henry’s Outdoor Chicken.
The folks cooking the chicken know what they’re doing. They are Henry’s Outdoor Chicken, which feeds fairgoers on the PNE midway every year.
Pitt Meadows firefighters barbecue the sockeye salmon, about 136 kilograms’ worth, on grills that the Pitt Meadows Day Society had made years ago.
Volunteer Linda Beek said the dinner is a tradition that’s been going for 40 years. The dinner allows people to catch up with neighbours they haven’t seen in years. Lots of people also just come for the dinner and take away the meal.
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Dedicated volunteers work hard for several hours organizing, ticket sales, preparing, plating, cleaning tables, serving chicken, salmon and beverages, and when it’s all over, there is a massive amount of cleanup to be done by those same volunteers, such as those from the Church on the Rock. The local church is a sponsor the Pitt Meadows Day, while volunteers help with organizing and cleanup.
Cost for the dinner is $10, which includes either a half chicken or one-quarter slab of salmon, served with potato salad, a bun, dessert and a drink. Tickets are available at the hall just before dinner and sometimes lineups form early.
There will also be a free family dance upstairs in the hall.
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