Rotary making changes to annual dinner

The Whitehall Rotary Club is making some changes to their annual community dinner.

This year's brunch/dinner has been scheduled for July 29 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Rotarian Ed Handl said they are hoping to capitalize on some of the Frontier Days celebrations for a bigger crowd.

Formerly known as the "International Dinner", the theme of the event has been changed to the "Whitehall Rotary American Food Heritage Dinner"

"We changed the name to reflect that we are welcoming all foods which define our American heritage. After some discussions, we felt that the new name may appeal more to folks who don't necessarily want to explore foreign cuisine,' Handl said.

EVENT INFO VENUE & ARRANGEMENTS

Vending participants are requested to prepare American or international style dishes for the dinner and serve portions from your booth during the event. The Rotary Club of Whitehall will have spaces available for approximately 20 different food booths. Vendor booth set-up may start at 10:00 A.M. Live background musical entertainment will take place during the dinner, and the Community Center will be decorated.

Food-vending participants are invited to select a country and a food recipe from that region. The countries and menu items should be submitted (as noted later) as soon as possible to ensure that coverage of regions, countries, and menu items are not duplicated. If your organization wishes to participate as a food vendor, you should submit a request, via phone or by email to the Rotary Club of Whitehall, c/o: Ed Handl, at 406-491-7981, or edhandl47@gmail.com. Whitehall Rotary will notify you as soon as possible whether your recipe item has been approved (so as not to duplicate food items, countries, or regions).

Whitehall Rotary will assign pre-locate, and provide booth space for each food-vending participant. You will have two 8-foot tables, with tablecloths, (one front and one rear) which will be arranged around the perimeter of the community center. Customers will dine at tables in the central area. Rotary will provide table placards indicating your non-profit organization name, the food region/country, and the food description which you agree to prepare. You are encouraged to bring added decorations or wear costumes to create a more festive atmosphere.

PORTION SIZES, PREPARATION, AND BEVERAGES

Vendors should serve small 4-ounce portions, to encourage customers to sample many of the different foods to be presented. Kitchen facilities are not available at the Community Center. Food items must be prepared in advance, and kept properly hot or cold by use of insulated containers or other means. You will need to provide your own serving utensils and containers for holding the food.

During prior Rotary Dinners, vendors dispensed quantities of servings ranging from 60 to over 200, depending on popularity of the food items. Whitehall Rotary suggests that you prepare up to 200 servings, but the risk is entirely up to you and your organization.

Rotary will vend coffee, tea, bottled water & soft drinks for tokens. Disposable napkins, utensils, and plates will be provided by Rotary for dining customers.

CHARGES, PRICING AND PAYMENTS

Customers will be charged $15 at the door for 10 food tokens. Each token will be redeemable for one food serving from a food-vending booth of the customer's choice. Non-profit food-vending participants will receive $1.25 for each token spent at their booth during the event. Whitehall Rotary will send payment to non-profit groups by check, mailed after the event is concluded and tokens are tallied. The remainder will go to Whitehall Rotary to offset costs and to support Whitehall Rotary Club service projects.

FOOD SAFETY

Some customers may have specific food allergies. Please be prepared during the event to answer questions about ingredients.