Yes, we know it can be said that the traditional Thanksgiving mythos seeks to whitewash a complicated, brutal chapter of American history. But we can go ahead and throw that mythos in the trash, and what you have left is the maybe the most beautiful of holidays – family, friends, service, gratitude.

The strongest case for this lies in an enduring American tradition: The free, community-wide, open-to-all Thanksgiving feast. Cities and towns and churches and volunteers all across America put them on every single year, and we do it to make sure every member of our neighborhood gets fed and fed well.

The community Thanksgiving dinner feeds people a feast that they might not be able to afford on their own. But you know who gets even more out of it? The people who are doing the feeding – cooking, serving, washing dishes for a cause. It’s spiritual work, and even if you can’t do it every day, maybe you can do it once or twice a year.

Here are the community Thanksgiving meals that we’re aware of as of this writing. If we find out about more, we’ll update.

ARCATA

Arcata House Partnership is hosting a community Thanksgiving dinner at the D Street Neighborhood Center (1301 D Street) starting at 11 a.m. See the Partnership’s Facebook page for more details.

Looks like they could still use turkey and pie donations, and are maybe still looking for a little volunteer help. You can find instructions and sign up using their handy Google Sheet.

EUREKA

Eureka’s feast, as usual, is hosted by St. Vincent de Paul at its dining facility (35 W. Third Street). They were looking for volunteers and donations back at the end of October — see their Facebook page — but it’s unclear what they still might need. You’re supposed to call (707) 445-9588 and ask for Mary, Steven or Dan to sign up, but when we called there was no answer. Maybe you’ll have better luck.

REDWAY

The Garberville Veterans’ Association is throwing its annual shindig at the Mateel Community Center, starting at noon. Here is the Mateel’s Facebook post about it, with numbers to call for more information.