Spring brings so many welcomed things. A delectable one is Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church's annual Dandelion Dinner, open to the public from 3:30-7 p.m. Saturday.

The church has been holding the annual event for the last 20 years, serving up to 400 guests each year. They serve ham, boiled potatoes, corn, carrots, applesauce, rolls and homemade desserts. But the star of the show is the dandelion with homemade bacon dressing.It takes three days to prepare for the dinner. Bright and early at 7 a.m. Thursday volunteers begin to clean the dandelion, which comes from Texas, and make the dressing. On Friday they prep the potatoes and set up the dining area. Saturday they prepare the ham and get everything ready to begin serving at 3:30 p.m.Shirley Craig, chairwoman of the Women of Evangelical Lutheran Church Association, says she works with a great group of people and everything runs like clockwork."The Dandelion Dinner is something the community looks forward to each year. It takes a lot of dedicated workers from our congregation to make this happen. All generations among our members are active with the planning, preparation and functioning of this fundraiser," says the Rev. Brian Holben.Children participate with serving the dinners, clearing and setting tables. The women cook the meals."Many of the men also lend a hand in the kitchen, making it truly one of our most energetic endeavors. Besides helping to support our financial bottom line, the dandelion dinner creates a sense of community, which I suppose, mirrors to some respect Amish families helping one another to build barns. Everyone comes together for this event," Holben says.Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church is located at 500 Church Road, Trachsville (Palmerton).