Catholics serving up Italian

Published 1:13 am Thursday, February 4, 2010

For local residents who love traditional Italian food, Christ the King Catholic Church’s 11th annual Italian dinner is a sure bet for Saturday’s supper.

“We have several people in our parish who are Italians,” said Kathy Frye, event organizer. “We make everything from scratch.”

Wednesday, members of the congregation had made 20 pans of lasagna in preparation of the event and were working to the complete the last 10 pans by the weekend. Frye said they would also make 500 meatballs.

Dine-in or carry-out options are available, with each beginning at 4 p.m.

Those choosing to dine-in will have 30 minutes to be serenaded by Italian music, Frye said.

Carry-out dinners will last until 8 p.m., while dine-in dinners will last until 8:30 p.m.

All proceeds from the dinner will go to support the church youth programs.

“We started doing this when we were going to take our youth to Italy back in 2002 or 2003,” Frye said. “It was a great fundraiser to help take our kids on retreats.”

This year the youth will travel to the Steubenville Retreat in Atlanta.

“This is an opportunity for our youth to meet with more Catholic youth,” said Susan Gantt, a youth leader. “It’s a great opportunity for them to step out and see young people from all over the country. It focuses on them loving one another and the Lord.”

Gantt said the community has been supportive of this fundraiser every year.

“We usually sell about 500 tickets,” she said.

The dinner is set for Feb. 6, beginning at 4 p.m, with a choice of made-from-scratch lasagna or spaghetti with meatballs, along with salad, Italian bread and pizzelle.

Italian desserts and cappuccino bar will also be available. Cost is $7 for adults and $5 for children. Children 4 years and younger eat free.