From left, volunteers Traci Morris, Kathy Finley-Boggs, Kaelin Morris and Eric Mallett pack meals for delivery on Christmas morning 2023 at the Christmas Day Feast at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Harmar Village. (File photo)

Preparations are once again underway for the Christmas Day Feast in Marietta.

Started by a group of four Christian men who’d been meeting weekly for a prayer-and-share time, the event has grown from serving about 150 people at First Presbyterian Church in 2014 to an anticipated 900-plus meals this year.

“The mission then, as now, was to offer to anyone who wanted a warm and friendly place to celebrate Christmas with others a place with a family atmosphere and fellowship and home-style food, free of charge,” said Bruce Haas, one of the founders, in a news release.

Volunteers organize into teams to handle various tasks of preparing meats, real mashed potatoes, gravy, side dishes and pies, along with decorating and delivering hundreds of meals to those who cannot make it to the Feast in person, the release said.

The Puls Family String Trio has volunteered to provide traditional classic Christmas music from the beginning.

Belpre resident Mark Greathouse loads meals into a delivery team’s vehicle during the 2023 Christmas Day Feast at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Harmar Village. (Photo provided)

As attendance grew over the years, the venue shifted to the Knights of Columbus Hall on Franklin Street in Harmar.

The free ministry is entirely ecumenical and presented by volunteers from a number of local churches, several veteran and civic organizations and a few businesses.

Many volunteers make the Feast a family tradition, helping throughout the year with the planning, with food preparation and decoration on Christmas Eve and from early Christmas morning until the last guests are served and the cleanup complete.

In addition to live music and restaurant-style service, organizers plan to have small gifts and stuffed animals available for children at the event.

The dine-in Feast will begin at 1 p.m. on Christmas Day, Wednesday, Dec. 25, at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 312 Franklin St., Marietta. Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. to begin seating.

Volunteer Gretchen Lankford, right, carries meals out to a delivery team as volunteer Destanie Greathouse sorts toys during the 2023 Christmas Day Feast at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Harmar Village. (Photo provided)

The event is free and open to the public. Guests are asked to call 740-760-0277 by Dec. 18 to provide their name and number of people in their party to help with planning.

Carryout meals will be available for pickup from 11:30 a.m. to noon at the hall.

People are asked to call 740-760-0277 and give their name and the number of meals they wish to pick up.

People can also call 740-760-0277 to arrange for delivery, providing their name, address, phone number where they can be reached on Christmas morning and the number of meals they want to be delivered.