Running for Tradition, Feeding for Tomorrow: Turkey Trot & Presbyterian Feast
Fort Bragg lay sound asleep as we rolled through town. At the Cookie Company’s outside window, two grateful customers clutched their morning coffee. No cars sat in repair bays, no banks or stores stirred, even one gas station stood shuttered. The roads were clear, stretching hushed and empty in the holiday pause.
Not everyone was home gobbling with family just yet. The Bluffs brimmed with partiers taking part in the non‑competitive Turkey Trot, an event that fittingly supports the Food Bank. Runners paid a fee, pulled on sweatshirts, and hit the trails, cheered as they crossed the finish line. More than 200 registered, and even more filled the paths of the Noyo Headlands. It was a great day for a race—the human race. Kids, free from school, basked in bright sunshine and reveled in the rare gift of summery weather on Thanksgiving.
Across town the scene is even busier. More than 1,300 people are being fed as Fort Bragg Presbyterian Church hosts its annual FREE Community Thanksgiving Dinner, welcoming coastal residents from Westport to Albion. The hall is full, meals are being picked up and delivered, and the homeless are finding a place at the table. Over 175 volunteers prepare, serve, and deliver more than 1,000 plates of turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, honey‑glazed carrots, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie. It is generosity in motion, a feast that nourishes both present bellies and future hope.
And from all of us at MendocinoCoast.news, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving—may the race, the feast, and the fellowship of the wonderful community of Fort Bragg carry us all forward. May the footsteps on the Headlands trails echo tradition, the tables of turkey and pie remind us of generosity, and the bonds of neighbors shine brighter than the November sun. In this coastal town, gratitude is not just spoken—it is lived, shared, and celebrated together.
