Sylvia Sanchez (right) serves stuffing during the Fredericksburg Band Booster Turkey Dinner on Sunday. Sanchez along with several volunteers worked together make to-go meals for the drive-thru lane. More coverage can be found on page A/B3 and D3 of this week's paper. — Standard-Radio Post/Austin R. Eck
By Austin R. Eck —
The sound of music and the scent of turkey filled the air at the Gillespie County Fair Grounds as thousands of people were served at the Fredericksburg Band Booster’s Turkey Dinner.
Over one ton of turkey was dished out on to 3,000 plates in three hours during the turkey dinner, said Melissa May, FISD Band Booster Club assistant reporter.
In addition to the 2,500 pounds of turkey, 1,100 pounds of dressing, 340 pounds of noodles and 167 gallons of green beans were served, volunteer Ralph Koennecke said.
The plate seemed to be a crowd pleaser.
“This year’s plate was the best I’ve had in years,” Koennecke said. “The noodle and bean people had it down. Everything went smooth, especially, the noodles. Sometimes they get pasty but they had their timers and everything worked well. Everything seemed to click.”
Diners had the option of eating inside the Exhibition Hall or having food delivered to their car in the drive-thru lanes.
The turkey dinner is the largest fundraising event for the Fredericksburg Independent School District’s band programs.
“The proceeds help to supplement a variety of things such as uniforms, instruments, marching props, band camp, transportation costs, band trips and keeping the kids fed and hydrated on trips that are taken and whatever comes up to help support our students,” said Sandy McBride, Fine Arts Administrative Assistant.
In addition to serving up plenty of food, thousands of prize drawing tickets were also sold. Lucky winners received an array of prizes spanning from a PlayStation 4 to a 50-inch television or a Save Trophy Hunter XP .25-06 with Nikon Scope.
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