Aspen Mine Center Turkey Day Feast Attracts Close to 500 Participants
Rick Langenberg
So much for the threat of any Ebenezer Scrooge “Bah Humbug” pre-Christmas curses, putting a possible dent in southern Teller’s holiday spirit.
Despite all the attention given to the record-breaking federal government shutdown and concerns over inflation and popular benefit programs, Teller residents, local politicians and volunteers came out in force in celebrating the 23rd annual community Thanksgiving feast at the Aspen Mine Center in Cripple Creek, the day prior to the actual official Turkey Day.
In fact, for many locals, this has become their real Thanksgiving, with an extended community family.
More than 350 local adults and kids partook in the event, which has become the official kick-off for a spree of holiday festivities in Teller and the lower Ute Pass. And similar to previous years, the Aspen Mine Center was filled with the sight of 60-plus volunteers, including a handful of elected officials and hopeful candidates for future political seats serving turkey and ham, mashed potatoes, green beans and much more, while some played the role as mini-waiters, refreshment servers, greeters and local event ambassadors for the hundreds of attendees. At times, not an empty seat was spotted, but no one was complaining.
The timing also was ideal, as the dinner came near the final push for the Teller County Cares Food Initiative, a drive organized by a variety of organizations and nonprofits in response to the extended shutdown of the federal government, and associated concerns over the elimination or alteration of the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance) program and other key benefits for those in need. This effort has already raised more than $155,000 in donations to help those who need assistance (see related story).
But for Turkey Day, many groups came to the forefront.
This year’s sponsors of the Turkey feast included the Teller County Resource Group, Andrew Wommack Ministries, Cripple Creek Ace Hardware, Care and Share, Community of Caring and scores of private individuals
“It’s amazing how much this event has grown every year,” admitted Ted Borden, executive director of the Aspen Mine Center and Community of Caring. “It is all about building a community.”
When the dinner started 20-plus year ago, Borden admits it was primarily organized as a meal to just help those in need, one of the primary functions of the Aspen Mine Center. The annual dinner still provides that service, but it has extended into a major community gathering. If you are part of any organization, or serve as an elected official, this is the place to be, the day prior to Thanksgiving.
Borden credits the support to the area’s amazing volunteer spirit.
And luckily, the event has mostly reaped the benefits of favorable weather conditions. About the only rough terrain the event featured in recent years was during the COVID epidemic, which didn’t permit an in-person gathering for maybe one year. “That was probably the only time we couldn’t do a community meal, but we still did the event,” related Borden.
As in past years, no one left the Aspen Mine Center with an empty stomach. According to Borden, Thanksgiving dinner supporters, organizers and volunteer cooks succeeded in providing the public with 32 turkeys, 200 pounds of potatoes and a seemingly endless supply of pies.
Each year, the event continues to grow, forcing organizers to actually run the day’s feast with three organized servings.
The AMC East feast was just one of the region’s gala Thanksgiving celebrations.
A free Thanksgiving dinner was held at the Florissant Grange on the evening of Nov. 26.
And for football buffs, the Friendsgiving Dinner at Jess’ Place in Woodland Park on actual Turkey Day became another big highlight. Denver Bronco fans also were delivered an added Thanksgiving treat with division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs suffering a surprising loss to the Dallas Cowboys, further bolstering the Broncs’ hopes of garnering the number one seed in the playoffs.
For early Yuletide events, the city of Cripple Creek held its annual tree-lighting ceremony on Nov. 29 in Pocket Park, next to city hall.
Woodland Park last weekend held its annual Lights Above the Clouds parade down U.S. Hwy. 24 and a slew of other events, with Cripple Creek and Victor gearing up for their annual Gold Camp Country Christmas celebration this Saturday.
