Since 1934, The Verboort Sausage Dinner is an annual fundraiser put on by the community of Verboort, Oregon. It takes months to put it together with the help of many volunteers.
If the town of Verboort, Oregon is considered a one horse town— it would certainly be for its sacred church that serves as the lifeblood of the community. Not only does the local Visitation Catholic Church provide an anchor for religious expression and a sanctuary for ordinary life celebrations and mournings, it also provides a private school, where many of the resident children attend.
Verboort is a town that puts all its eggs in one basket— figuratively speaking. It hosts an annual fundraiser known as the Verboort Sausage Dinner to raise the bulk of its money for the school. Along with the dinner, there’s a public sale of the smoked sausage, sauerkraut, freshly made applesauce and other foods that are made on the church premises, and also available at the dinner. In addition, there’s a beer-garden party where ticket-holders can take a short bus ride across town to enjoy drinking beer prior to eating.
The dinner draws scores of people from the local area, and beyond, attracting even some from outside the state.
When you ask Leo Ducyk, this year’s event chairman and a lifelong resident about the population of Verboort, roughly 200, he’ll start naming houses on the street, and counting each of their respective occupants. Given enough time, he gives the listener confidence he would arrive at a reliable tally.
A few facts about this year’s 2014 event, its 80th year celebration:
- Over 29,000 pounds of pork was purchased for making into sausage.
- The whole cabbages weighed about 20,000 pounds; the finished cuttings to make the sauerkraut filled 55 barrels. Be advised: for those wishing to buy at the public sale, both the smoked sausage and the sauerkraut will likely sellout by midday, and then only be available for the dinner.
- Approximately 9000 people attended the 2013 dinner event, and according to Mr. Ducyk, this year is expected to draw an even larger crowd.
We had the privilege to go behind the scenes for an upcoming story about this remarkable town and their signature event that will be coming in the future. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of the sauerkraut making that took place in September, and the sausage-making in October. Much of the food is purchased locally, and and as you see in some of the pictures below, even the young children are able to participate.
For those wishing to attend, here are the Verboort Sausage Dinner details:
- November 1, 2014
- Location: Visiatation Catholic Church, Verboort, Oregon
- 9 am -The bulk food sales open to the public
- Tickets for the dinner open at 10 am
Check out the pictures of the sauerkraut and sausage making below:
