Sunday in Country dinner dance is Nov. 13

AMENIA — It might be in a different location this year, but expect the same standards in food, drink, music and high spirits for the Sunday in the Country Food Drive’s Annual Dinner Dance, scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13, from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Immaculate Conception Church in Amenia.

The dinner dance is the major annual fundraiser for this group working for to provide holiday dinners for families in need during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year’s dance raised nearly $17,000, contributing a healthy portion of the 550 Thanksgiving dinners and 530 Christmas dinners distributed during the 2008 holiday season.

This year a funding goal has been set for the first time by radio personality and food drive founder "NASCAR" Dave MacMillan. Yes, $50,000 is a high number, MacMillan acknowledged, but this year there are just as many families in need as ever. MacMillan said he is confident the community the food drive supports will contribute what they can.

The event has traditionally been held at the Silo Ridge Golf and Country Club on Route 22. However, because of ongoing reconstruction, the space is no longer available. This year the Immaculate Conception Church has provided the space and Silo Ridge will continue to support the food drive cause by donating all the food for the event. MacMillan estimated that out of the $20 ticket price, $8 per ticket would have been spent on purchasing food.

With $5,500 from the Maplebrook School’s CAPS program, as well as $2,500 from the Mark Washburn Memorial Golf Tournament held earlier this year, the food drive’s total stands at $14,000 right now. Last year that number was $30,000 by this time. With donations down across the board, MacMillan is hoping for $8,000 from the dinner dance this year, which would guarantee a full Thanksgiving dinner for 500 families. Where that leaves Christmas is another story, however.

"I don’t believe we’ll be able to get a full Christmas dinner [out to families]," he said. "But all we can do is do the best we can."

New fundraising ideas, like the flocks of plastic turkeys traveling from lawn to lawn in a fun and zany fundraising scheme this past fall, have proven successful, but MacMillan said he believes the problem is the delayed effect of the economic recession.

There are 13 different food pantries in the Tri-state region that Sunday in the Country supports, and not all of them contribute on an equal level. While it’s great to see some of the towns get more involved this year, MacMillan said, with donations down it’s going to be a tough call this Christmas when deciding how to ration out the funds if there isn’t enough to go around.

"Some of these towns are definitely starting to take heed of our cause," MacMillan said. "And if every town does a little bit more than it did last year, well, that helps get us to our ultimate goal."

As of Monday, there were still about 125 tickets left for the dinner dance. If they aren’t sold out by Friday they will be available at the door, but MacMillan also promised that anyone who shows up Friday night will be getting into the event.

"We’ll squeeze ’em in if we have to," he said laughing.

Tickets are $20 and include a full dinner buffet and an hour of free drinking. They can be purchased at the North East Athletic Center and the American Legion Post 178 in Millerton or Jack’s Auto in Wassaic. Live music will be provided by the Schvone sisters, and DJ Joey D will spin favorite tunes for the remainder of the evening.

Anyone unable to attend Friday’s event but still interested in donating to the food drive can send checks to Sunday in the Country Food Drive, PO Box 789, Millerton, NY 12546.