Hot lunch deluxe arrived at the Magdalena Schools on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

The annual Thanksgiving Community Feast came with the traditional menu, from turkey to pumpkin pie, with a generous helping of green chile thrown into the mix.

Parents arrived laden with from-scratch desserts in Tupperware containers that were added to the festivities. Kindergartners made American Indian feather headdresses and placed their photographs on centerpiece-size Pilgrim bodies.

Members of the National Honor Society and Student Council served the fixin's, which were made by the busy cafeteria staff of the school district.

Superintendent Mike Chambers said the 18-year tradition draws just about everyone from Alamo and Magdalena.

"We send a letter home and ask parents to come to lunch and bring side dishes or desserts," he said. The rest of the community is invited, too.

"The holidays are something the kids look forward to. It's a nice way to kick off the holiday season and say think you to parents for helping us and for participating in their children's education."

Somewhere between 750 and 1,000 people were expected to show up for the lunch.

Parent Rosemary Pino was among the parents attending – she's the mother of a seventh-grader. "I come every year with my kids," she said. "It's good to get together with people, talking to people, meeting with some of the teachers."

It's an unofficial beginning of the holiday season in town, she said.

Pino'sr niece, Melissa Pino, was there to "support my cousin, my aunt's daughter," and she remembers attending the feast herself when she was a student.

"It was nice to get out of class for awhile and have fun with your friends. It's real nice," she said.

Along one side of the room, long tables held silent auction items ranging from local history books to jewelry to school jackets. Parents Ruth Guin and Bev Gallaher stood ready to help.

"It started off when we had to come up with an idea to reward kids for perfect attendance," Guin said. Parents raised money for mid- and high-schoolers to have pizza parties, ice cream socials and movie days if they don't miss school.

"We've definitely had an increase in the number of students with perfect attendance," she said. "It's working."

June Otero's eighth-grade daughter invited her to attend.

"It's really nice," she said. "This is the first time I've been."

Ned Fahy, whose son is a senior, agreed that it was a wonderful idea.

"It's the best thing going," he said. "It gets everybody in the community here – kids, parents. They invite just about everybody — like the Pilgrims did."