By Terra Avilla
Saturday night with birthday boy, Michael “Uncle Diz” Haldane in tow, we headed out to the Northern California Cancer Advocate’s annual crab feed. Boy was I in for a surprise.
Now, I have never been to a crab feed, let alone one hosted by this wonderful group , and to my surprise neither had Diz. Both of us were so blown away at what a cool experience it was.
Immediately entering the casino, we were greeted by so many familiar faces. There was Sherman Idip taking tickets aside Christy Lewis. We were off to a great start.
Doors opened at 5:00p.m., and I am so glad we got there when we did, because at 5:05 it was already busy. Lucky for us, we scored seats next to Lance Monath’s crew (who adopted us for the night) as well as Michelle Zubillaga. (To say our company was top notch, was an understatement!)
After finding our seats we walked around and saw so many friends. Dawn Lightsey was running around, along with Connie Herman, Shelley Bennett, and so many more!
After maneuvering and greeting my favorite people, I ran into my other favorite people!
There was Dede Heimbigner, the Heath family, and of course the Rodriguez clan. Alicia Cordova and I plotted over what items to place our raffle tickets in.
Oh, the raffle.
The NCCAA knows how to put together a raffle. From the Traeger to the Coach Purse, you couldn’t go wrong. And for once I WON! (I never win), but really, I was able to score a wonderful and festive basket donated from Court House Café.
So many people, but so many of my favorite people all in one place and I win some yummy tacos. Not so bad for Terra.
Once at our seat, Diz and I had no idea what to expect, but luckily for us Patrica Monath so graciously helped us.
The food was brought out family style, and the atmosphere was just so relaxed and laid back.
Course after course, we enjoyed the company at the table, and the delicious food. My new friend Brittany, who was part of the Monath tribe, became quick friends and I laughed so hard as we tried to crack open the crab, celebrating when she was able to retrieve a huge portion of meat.
Oh, and the crab. I can’t write about the crab feed and not mention the crab. It was so delicious, and there was so much of it.
I would be remiss to write about my night and not mention the LHS Drill team. Those ladies were there in full force, waiting on the tables, and they did an outstanding job! Seriously, the best servers I have ever seen.
And that’s it. That’s why I love this place we call home so much. I know other communities have crab feeds. I know they do. But it’s all of it together that makes our crab feed so special.
Sitting next to old friends and new. Seeing your favorite people unexpectedly and knowing every single person who wins in the raffle. Seeing how cancer affected all the board members but knowing their own unique resilience. It’s just so beautiful. It’s just Lassen County. It’s just why the crab feed is now one of my new favorite reasons I love where we live.
