Mama Liz, Nicki Tedesco Thanksgiving Dinners in Hermosa Beach
Elizebeth Kaner brings bread to a guests. Photo
Over 40 cooked turkeys and even more pies were delivered to the Hermosa Beach Kiwanis and Rotary halls Thanksgiving morning. The donated fixings were just enough to serve the more than 400 guests who attended the 34th Annual Absolutely Free Mama Liz Thanksgiving Dinner.
At the Hermosa pier, Nicki Tedesco and the Foursquare Church of Redondo Beach served food to an estimated 1,000 people. Nicki celebrated her 93rd birthday on Saturday.
“Mama” Liz Turner established the dinner after she and her son Randy closed their downtown Hermosa Beach Garden Of Eden restaurant, where they had offered free Thanksgiving dinners in the early ’80s. She continued the tradition at the Hermosa Beach Kiwanis Hall during her years as an Easy Reader typesetter. Since her passing, the dinner has been under the leadership of Berkshire Hathaway Realtor Donna Dawick. Dawick solicits volunteers from among Easy Reader readers and rounds up cooked turkeys from fellow Berkshire Hathaway Realtors. Sandpipers donates the pies. Real Estate West Realtor Jonathan Coleman, of the band Abracadabra, organizes the local musicians who perform throughout the day. Vince “The Bubbleman” entertains the kids and Hermosa Celebrations’ Sandy and Michael decorate the Kiwanis Hall with brightly colored, helium balloons. This year’s volunteer chef was Amy Johnson. As in past years, Hermosa Kiwanis made their hall available for the diners and the neighboring Hermosa Rotary Club donated the use of its kitchen for carving the turkeys. ER
