As the oldest town in Skagit County, La Conner takes pride in its traditions.

One of the best of those, it turns out, is also one of the more recent.

For the past 12 years the Waterfront Café downtown has hosted a free community Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings.

Thanksgiving 2021 will be no exception.

“We’ll be open from 12-noon until 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving,” the Waterfront Café’s Chef Dagmar confirmed to the Weekly News last Thursday.

As always, everyone is invited to dine in or pick up take-out turkey day meals at no cost.

In lieu of payment, those so choosing may make donations benefitting La Conner Sunrise Food Bank and the NOAH Center in Stanwood, which facilitates adoptions of homeless pets, said Waterfront Café co-owner Marla Valle.

“I talked with Dagmar,” Vallee said, “and we’re going to split the donations between the food bank and NOAH.

Also keeping with tradition, Town Councilmember Bill Stokes will prepare home-baked pies as desserts for the local feast.

“It’s a tradition in La Conner since 2009 and Bill’s been baking pies since the start,” said Stokes’ wife, Sandy, former co-publisher-editor of the Weekly News.

“He’ll get up at 5:30 a.m. to get them all made by noon,” she added. “This year he might make the dough the night before, though.”

The Waterfront Café’s offers an all-inclusive format, providing holiday meals for those living distant from their families, unable to prepare dinner on their own, or facing a financial crunch.

“Or,” Vallee is quick to add, “those who simply want to celebrate Thanksgiving with us.”

Enjoying good fellowship, sparing the work of preparing a large dinner and being able to avoid doing dishes are just a few of the incentives for dining at the Waterfront Café.

Supporting the food bank and NOAH are ideal ways to capture the holiday spirit in general and the gift of Thanksgiving in particular, Vallee and the Waterfront Café staff note.

La Conner Sunrise Food Bank strives to meet the food needs of the community here while NOAH unites furry friends with families in the region by transferring dogs and cats from shelter partners.

Last Thanksgiving, despite in-door dining restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, around $1,500 was collected at the Waterfront Café for the food bank and another charity, Hope For Paws – a case of each diner truly putting his or her money where their mouth is.

For information about this year’s community Thanksgiving Dinner, call 360-466-1579 or drop by the Waterfront Café, 128 South First Street.