45th Annual Perrytown Herring Fry

Last night one of the big events here in the Chowan River Region came off, despite bitterly cold early winter. On a day that saw the sun rise with what may be the earliest snow fall in local history, the volunteers of the Perry Town Fire Station worked hard, as usual, to feed everyone in the region. Their annual Herring Dinner is done as well as anybody does it.



When you enter the Perrytown Community Building, first stop is at the cashier.



Next stop is at the rear of the building where you pick up your food from the volunteers who take care of distributing the food to those who "eat in".



Then you find a place at the tables which jam the Community Center in anticipation of the huge annual crowd, somewhat down this year at least early in the evening, due to the bitterly cold weather.



Another choice is to "take out", and there is a group of volunteers at a tent beside the Community Building who are preparing the food for quick pick up so all you have to do is drive up. They bring it to your car if you need it!



Before I left, I had to drop by and say hello to the volunteers you don't see. Out back of the Community Center is the shelter where they prepare the food. This is the Fire Station's annual fund raiser, and everyone knows the proceeds go to help with fire and ambulance services. This event helps save lives in our community.



It is fun to watch them, as everyone seems to be having a good time helping out. Here they are cooking the Herring.



This is the area where they cook the cornbread to go with the Herring.



Within minutes another shift has taken over to share the work. There is plenty of help from dedicated members of the community.



I almost forgot to get a picture of a most important station, where they prepare the food for the cooks. This night they suffer to an extent because they don't have a stove to keep them warm!

It was a great night as usual and you missed one of the best annual homecoming events of our area if you weren't there.

Thanks to all the volunteers for the Herring Fry, and to all the volunteers who make the Perrytown Fire Station a success all year long. Thanks especially for all the people who have worked so hard to get the new fire station building approved. [Check out the article posted below about the ground breaking ceremony that happened recently.] It should be built by next year and it will be a great addition to our area. Proceeds from this event will be used to help pay for the fire station.


Check out the story on last year's 44th Annual Herring Fry Dinner here.