4 minute read
Community News
A Time to Indulge
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
Many friendly faces enjoyed ham, sausages, eggs, pancakes, oranges, and all the trimmings at Vegreville United Church 23rd Annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper on February 13.
Coordinator Holly Cependa reported, “There were around 70 attendees.
We prepare for an event like this by keeping good notes from year to year so we follow the previous plans. The core group of 10 volunteers is always wonderful to work with. Everyone knows their role and they all work well together.
The purpose of the event is to prepare ourselves for the season of Lent while fundraising at the same time. The biggest highlight of the event was hearing the chatter and laughter from the guests. We had numerous glowing comments about the food and how well-organized everything was (that warmed the heart). We are so blessed with the support from the community.”
Rev. Stephen Milton from Lawrence Park Community Church shared written information about Shrove Tuesday with attendees. “Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Lent begins, and it has a strange name: Shrove Tuesday. Back in the Middle Ages, that meant that people needed to get in front of a priest and confess their sins before Lent began. Priests would hear confessions, and then write down some instructions on what kind of penance was needed. It might be reciting some prayers each day, or, in extreme cases, staying silent for all of Lent. The old English word for “wrote” was “shrove”. So, Shrove Tuesday meant the last day to get your homework assignment from the local priest.
Lent also involved fasting - people needed to give up eating meat, eggs, milk, cheese, and fats. In England, that meant cooking up pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, a tradition that continues to this day.
On the continent, Europeans created more fun ways to party before Lent kicked in. The Italians created what is now known as a carnival. It derives from the Latin term carnem levare which means “meat removal”. Catholics were asked to abstain from meat during Lent, so this was a last chance to eat, drink and be merry before the fasts began the next day. In France, the festival became known as Mardi Gras – Fat Tuesday. Again, an excuse to party and eat a lot of fat before the austerities set in. The French brought this festival to America when they settled in what is now Mobile Alabama and New Orleans. The festival lasted, even if French power did not. Today, the Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans comes to an abrupt halt at midnight on Tuesday, since Lent begins first thing on Wednesday.”
Love the Ukrainian Way
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
The Ukrainian culture has good food, company, and music so, 45 attendees enjoyed the Fourth Annual Ukrainian Valentine’s Day Dine and Dance on February 17 at the Senior Citizens Sunshine Club of Vegreville (SCSCV).
The event began with a delightful supper of roast chicken, meatballs, perogies, lazy cabbage rolls, garlic sausage, salads, vegetables, beverages, and desserts created by Sunshine Café volunteers. Every dish had gluten-free options.
Next, people were treated to music by Jim Davis and Friends which had a melody that was so harmonized that it elevated a person’s mood.
Jim is an 80-year-old resident of Vegreville who said he has been playing music most of his life. “I started playing and singing professionally for dances when I was 33 until 2006 and then I retired. Now, I began performing again with my bandmates for fun. I enjoy old-time music.
My biggest award was seeing the joy people experienced when I played music. I was going to make some CDs but that never got done.”
SCSCV President Dwayne Hlady expressed that he wanted to host this event because it was an original idea that no one else had. “I started it on leap year four years ago, and it is leap year again this year.”
