1,500 turn out for annual Ellis Easter Dinner - Hometownstations.com-WLIO- Lima, OH News Weather Sports

1,500 turn out for annual Ellis Easter Dinner

Hundreds pack into Lima's Civic Center for an annual Easter tradition.

The Ellis Easter dinner is a tradition Kleet Ellis has been hosting for the community for the past two decades. 

The dinner is free to the public and has been known to bring in a rather large group of people. 

Phil Pittington has been coming to the dinner for the past five years. With no family around, Phil uses this opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy a traditional Easter dinner with some familiar faces. 

For Tony Klett the dinner is a way for him and his wife to talk with people he rarely sees. 

Iain Cox was at the dinner Sunday not to enjoy the food, but to volunteer his time as a server. As part of his government class, Cox is required to complete ten hours of community service. For Cox, volunteering at the Ellis Easter Dinner is about more than fulfilling a class requirement, it's about helping and talking with people he normally wouldn't see. 

Hosting the event for the past 21 years, Kleet Ellis was happy with this year's turn out calling it the biggest turn out thus far.