The Feast from the East: A tasty little secret at Lethbridge Airport
Chances are, if you have ever been to the 702 Wing Annual Lobsterfest you will definitely want to do it again. This event is held every year close to the end of May, and is indeed a seafood lover’s delight. Due to COVID 19 we have been unable to hold the event during the past two years but the event has been renewed this year on June 11 at the 702 Wing facility at 174 Stubb Ross RD Lethbridge Airport. We welcome the General Stewart Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion as a partner in this event.
It all started back in the spring of 1982 when some of the Wing members, many of whom were from Nova Scotia and other Maritime provinces, decided to put on a Lobster Dinner for the members. Jim McGrath and Dave Garland arranged the dinner, ordered the Lobster and did the cooking on the stove in the kitchen.
At that dinner they fed a total of around 30 people. It was very evident that the kitchen stove was not designed to boil the amount of water required to cook lobster, so Gord Brown suggested that a Propane Tiger Torch might do a better job of it, and the following year he tried it and it worked much better.
One of the other difficulties was obtaining fresh lobster, so again Gord started to look for a way to solve this problem. Some people whom he worked with in Edmonton were bringing in Lobster from Nova Scotia and doing a company employee dinner so he was able to piggyback on their order and obtain enough lobster for the 702 Wing dinner. This of course presented another problem as the lobster had to be picked up in Edmonton. So Gord solved this problem also, as he happened to own a Cessna Centurion Aircraft, which he used to bring the lobster to Lethbridge. The lobster Dinner became a regular annual event and Gord flew the lobster in for a couple of years, but was always looking for ways to improve it. Also it had been getting bigger each year. He had family connections in Nova Scotia which made it possible to make other connections to obtain top quality fresh seafood in the quantities that were required and at the best prices. Quality and freshness are of the utmost importance.
The dinner was growing bigger each year as more volunteer members joined the team. Additional seating was added in tents in the parking lot. In 1990 Walter Den Hoed joined the team. The number of guests attending the event soon required that specialized equipment and procedures be developed to ensure that several hundred dinners could be prepared and served in a timely manner. About 10 years ago the Lobsterfest had grown to the point where it was necessary to add a second sitting. This was done and has been very successful. At that time fresh Cultivated Mussels were added to the meal. This required still more equipment as the Mussels required another stove, which has been provided to us by the generosity of Art Bell of Bell’s Welding. We also owe our success to the many volunteers who work so diligently each year to make this event possible.
At present we are capable of serving about 400 guests at two sittings plus a large number of take-out dinners.We do not offer steak with the lobsterfest as it is not a practical thing to do. It is very difficult to cook steaks to suit everyone’s taste, and this is not what most people want at a lobsterfest. Two complete lobsters are included in each meal, together with steamed mussels and fresh salads and dessert.
If you would like to experience the wonderful taste of fresh Atlantic Seafood prepared by people who
value quality and freshness, come to the 702 Wing Lobsterfest on Saturday, June 11, 2022. All tickets must be purchased by June 07, 2022. Tickets cost $85 each with proceeds to support 702 Wing , Royal Canadian Legion General Stewart Branch and the 11 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Cadets. No tickets are available at the door.