SOUTHWEST HARBOR — Think you have a crowd coming over for Thanksgiving dinner? Last year, Frances and Ralph Reed fed 130 people and this year they could top that number.

This is the 10th year that the Reeds, who own the Quietside Café, have hosted a free Thanksgiving dinner for Mount Desert Island residents.

“We want to give back to the community,” Ms. Reed said during a recent lunchtime at the Main Street café. “That’s what Thanksgiving is about – giving.

As in past years, the Reeds start serving at 11 a.m. The dinner continues through the afternoon until “whenever we stop,” Ms. Reed said.

“Everybody’s invited,” she said. “Come join us and have a great time.”

The menu includes roast turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables and, of course, Ms. Reed’s home-baked pies. She usually bakes about 15 pies with different fillings: pumpkin, sweet potato, apple, pecan and chocolate mousse.

The event draws more diners each year, Ms. Reed said.

“Last year was our biggest year,” she said.

And they’re bracing for an even larger crowd at this year’s dinner. In anticipation, they are cooking three 30-pound turkeys, Ms. Reed said.

Cooking and clean-up for the dinner is done by the Reeds; their daughters, Ebony and Marlena; and five or so other volunteers.

“We start preparing food two days before,” Ms. Reed said. Her husband usually starts cooking the turkeys at about 3 a.m. Thanksgiving day.

“This year, he’ll probably have to start cooking earlier because the turkeys are so big,” she joked.

It’s a lot of work, she says, but well worth the effort. One of the perks is getting to see and visit with people who have attended in past years.

“It’s nice to see faces you remember,” Ms. Reed said. “When you haven’t seen someone for a while your face just lights up.”

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