Community Harvest is at it again. This year the fete will celebrate Thanksgiving at the seventh annual Community Harvest dinner on Nov. 27 at the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge.

Organizer Jack Stiltz, owner of Bay Printing, expects more than 5,000 people to attend.

“Donations are coming in, but not as much as before,” he said.

Stiltz isn’t one to ask for anything, but knows the contributions are a necessity to the event.

“I try to hustle where I can,” he said.

In an effort to increase the number of donations from corporate offices such as Puget Sound Energy, Wal-Mart and other large businesses, Community Harvest is going through the formal nonprofit licensing process.

“This will expand the size and number of contributions,” he said.

About 800 people attended the first Community Harvest seven years ago. From its humble beginnings, the seasonal celebration expanded to feed 4,500 people last year.

The event’s growing popularity, coupled with tighter family budgets, should make the Elks Lodge a hot Thanksgiving venue.

“With the economy like it is, there’s going to be a big crowd,” Stiltz said.

Everyone is welcome, he said.

“We have the rich, poor, young, single — everybody is there and they have a good old time,” Stiltz said. “Don’t sit at home. Come on down, relax and eat. Nobody leaves empty.”

Flowers and table clothes will add a festive holiday flair, and all food will be served on ceramic plates.

“No paper plates or plastic forks here,” he said. “This is not a cheap thing.”

A clown, played by local real estate agent Wayne Locke, will be there to entertain the kids.

Stiltz already has an order in to the Navy for 200 turkeys, North Whidbey Help House has pledged 25 birds and Saar’s market will donate ham, he said.

Last year’s price tag totaled about $70,000. In years past, Community Harvest returned extra funds to the community through scholarships and donations to local charities. But this year, Stiltz said the organization will tuck any extra funds away for next year.

“We’re going into hard times,” he said.

On a day where everyone should be with family and friends, the Whidbey Cruisers team up with Community Harvest to deliver some 500 meals to the police and fire departments, the Navy hospital and others working through the holiday, in addition to people who cannot leave their home to attend the community feast.

The night before, volunteers will set up. On Thanksgiving Day, Stiltz and his crew will arrive at the lodge by 6 a.m., and by 11 a.m. the food will be cooked and ready to go. The event will run until 5 p.m., when the fire department will arrive to help with clean up.

“They really are the lifesavers to us,” he said. “It’s a really beautiful thing.”