Christ Church of Longboat Key hosts Wednesday night dinner

Opportunities for dinner and a show are plentiful in Sarasota, but Longboat Key residents usually have to fight through long snaking lines of traffic to make it downtown. On Feb. 16, the show came to Christ Church of Longboat Key, as members enjoyed dinner and a performance from Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. 

The church's Wednesday night dinners are a tradition that dates back to the beginning of the congregation, when a fledgling CCLBK gathered at members' houses once a month. The dinners have been paused since before the pandemic and only returned in January of 2022, when CCLBK celebrated 10 years in its current facility. That dinner drew about 120 guests, while this one netted 150. 

Attendees filed into two lines to get a dinner of ham, mac-n-cheese and green beans. After heading back up for seconds, they settled back into their seats for a Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe performance organized by WBTT board member and church member Mike Gardiner. Six performers, including WBTT Founder Nate Jacobs, brought the house down from a stage and within the crowd as they sang songs from the 60s and 70s.