Dressed for the feast

Deirdre Newman

Pilgrims alighted from the Mayflower in Costa Mesa on Thursday and

joined the American Indians for a Thanksgiving feast.

The Mayflower was not a ship, but instead a 50-foot moving van docked

at Christ Lutheran School. Its cavernous interior was filled with

traditional Thanksgiving fare like turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce.

The seventh-graders, dressed as Pilgrims, played host to the

eighth-graders, dressed as American Indians, for the school’s first

attempt at an authentic Thanksgiving feast.

“We have so much to be thankful for and we try to bring as much of

this stuff to life as possible,” said teacher Jenny Jordan.

The addition of the donated Mayflower van was the brainchild of parent

JoAnne Atlakson.

“Next year, I have to find Plymouth Rock,” Atlakson joked.

While many of the students donned pilgrim hats and a few feathers,

some went all out. Eighth-grader Katie Farthing wore a paper bag vest

adorned with feathers with a papoose on the back and an Indian doll

inside of it. Many of the students said that dressing up gave them a more

intimate perspective on the historical nature of the event.

“We learned that the Indians and Pilgrims intermingled, shared the

wealth and had a feast,” eighth-grader Jessie Rincon said.

The students are also collecting canned goods for a food pantry at the

school.

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .