Thursday will mark the return of a local Thanksgiving tradition when guests turn out for the 23rd annual Grover Reeves Free Community Thanksgiving Meal.

For the second straight year, the dinner will be held at the fellowship hall at St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church. Volunteers kept the church kitchen busy Monday and Tuesday, washing turkeys and making early-week preparations for an event that’s expanded significantly from its modest beginnings.

Now named in honor of its founder, longtime Cullman resident and First Baptist member Grover Reeves, the dinner began as Reeves’ vision of a way to assure all members of the community — including those who couldn’t afford the preparations — to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner.

Reeves passed away in March of last year, but the dinner lives on — and grows — under his name. Eight months after his passing, the event was moved last year from First Baptist to St. John’s, for the first time in its 22-year run, to accommodate its largest-ever turnout.

Preparation for the event begins long before the meals are served, with volunteers from numerous area churches and outreach organizations collaborating to prepare for more than 1,000 guests.

As always, and in keeping with Reeves’ vision, donations and sponsorships ensure the meal is free. It’s become a unique opportunity from people from all walks of life in the community to come together for a few moments, on a day typically reserved for more private, domestic interactions.

To be part of this year’s Grover Reeves Free Community Thanksgiving Meal, all you have to do is show up at St. John’s tomorrow starting at 11 a.m. And — unless you volunteer for the job — you won’t even have to wash any dishes afterward.