Aspen’s longest-running charity event returns on Sunday

From 4-8 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, St. Mary Catholic Church will hold its 138th St. Patrick’s Day Benefit Dinner at 533 E. Main St. and return to a traditional sit-down community format for the first time since 2018.

“In 2018 and 2019, the Church went through a big remodel. So, in those years, it was held out at (the now closed) Bumps,” said Father Joe Grady. “Of course, due to COVID-19 in 2020, it was canceled, and from 2021 through 2023, it was a takeout model. So we wanted to bring back the community event. Everybody’s welcome, regardless of whether you are Catholic or not. Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.”

The beloved tradition is Aspen’s longest-run charity event dating back to 1887. According to material provided by St. Mary’s, the first “St. Patrick’s Day Ball and Dinner” was sponsored by the Knights of Wolftone to raise money for the construction of St. Mary’s Church. The dinner was “cooked by the Ladies of Altar and Rosary Society and was served in the banquet hall on the third floor of the Armory (City) Hall” with the dance taking place on the first floor.

“As far as we know, this is like the oldest, Western Slope, annual charity event of its kind,” Father Grady said. “It’s a really good Aspen tradition where the community can come together.”

This year’s menu includes roast beef and pork roast, mashed potatoes with gravy, homemade cole slaw, green beans, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverages. Beer and wine will be available for five dollars.

“It’s just good, hearty, salt-of-the-earth Irish fair, as it’s always been,” he said. “People always ask about the coleslaw like ‘What’s the deal with that?’ I’ve been asking around, and everyone’s just like, ‘That’s what we always do.’ Somebody once told me that it was a concession to the German inhabitants, but I don’t know if there’s any substance behind that.”

The meal is first come, first served, and there will be tents set up outside the church where attendees can gather and have a drink while waiting for a table. The meal doesn’t have a set cost and is available to everyone on a give-what-you-can donation basis. 100% of the donations will go to the St. Patrick’s Charity Fund, which is distributed to those in need throughout the Roaring Fork Valley community, either directly or through local non-profits.

“None of that money ends up at the church,” he said. “That goes directly to people in need or to charitable institutions somewhere in the valley.”

Father Grady said the production of the dinner is a huge undertaking with over a hundred volunteers working to make the event happen, and that much of the food is donated, and some local hotels like The Little Nell are helping with the cooking and slicing of the meat.

“There’s an army of people both in the church and outside the church that just have been volunteering forever and are excited to come back for St. Patrick’s,” he said. “Even though the town has changed since 1887, there are still these old traditional things that can thrive 138 years later. We can still do the old things with as much enthusiasm. Please come just enjoy St. Patrick’s Day with us.”

Sarah Girgis is the Publisher for The Aspen Times. She can be reached at 970-429-9151 or sgirgis@aspentimes.com.