GUILFORD — They were already lined up out the door at 4 p.m., a half hour before the first seating at the Guilford Community Church's annual Sugar-on-Snow Supper on March 16.
All 120 seats for the 4:30 p.m. meal were sold out. Likewise for the 120 seats at 5:45 p.m. meal. A few tickets remained for the 7 p.m. sitting.
So, if you're expecting 360 people over for supper on a Saturday night, what does it take to feed them?
According to volunteer Cathy Hess, it takes 75 pounds of ham and 120 pounds of potatoes for the potato salad. You'll need 600 deviled eggs and 40 pounds of yellow-eye beans.
And for the sugar-on-snow part of the meal, you'll need about six trash cans filled with crushed ice (because snow is too nasty or too scarce by this point of the winter), and a few gallons of hot maple syrup.
Finally, you'll have to have on hand 14 pounds of pickles and a whole lot of homemade doughnuts to cut the intense sweetness of the syrup.
It was all served with the utmost precision by dozens of volunteers of all ages.
“That's the great part about this dinner,” said the Rev. Lise Sparrow, pastor of Guilford Community Church. “The intergenerational aspect of it. You see people of every age helping out.”
“It takes the whole church to put this on,” said Hess.
The meal is served family-style, with plates of ham and deviled eggs and bowls of baked beans, potato salad, cole slaw, and rolls. And everyone, including Rev. Sparrow, pitches in to make sure everyone has enough to eat and drink.
After the ham and beans, the traditional main course at a sugar-on-snow supper, out come the bowls of crushed ice and the pitchers of hot maple syrup.
When the syrup hits the ice, it immediately turns to an almost taffy-like confection that will pull your fillings out if you're not careful. The sweetness is completely off the charts - hence, the pickles and doughnuts to clear the palate for the next bite.
While the food is good, and the maple sugar is even better, the real draw for sugar-on-snow suppers like this one is that it represents the first big social outing for many as winter slowly fades and spring slowly creeps closer.
“By March, people are really sick of winter and want an excuse to get out of the house,” said Rev. Sparrow.