The Shepherd’s Feast tradition continues

Published 1:46 pm Thursday, December 28, 2017

: Polk County students Kendall Hall, Emmalyn Rathbone and Kristen Halal are ready to distribute gifts to children at the Shepherd's Feast.

Sharing a Christmas meal with family, friends, neighbors has become a beloved annual tradition in Polk County. Staged by a busy crew of volunteers, the annual Shepherd’s Feast was held Christmas Day at Polk County Middle School, offering a free meal for anyone and everyone who wanted to enjoy Christmas dinner with friends and strangers alike. (Photos by Mark Schmerling)

Event greeter Jim Jackson (seated) of Tryon welcomes Phil Johnson, who, with his wife Gaye, performed music.

Tryon’s Jim Jackson, left, welcomes Peggy Alt.

Isaac Kan, right, helps cut desserts into individual servings.

Volunteers working in the middle school kitchen insured that clean plates, table and cookware would allow guests to partake from a steady supply of holiday food. Here, Nolen McKinney removes clean wares from the automatic dishwasher.