Photo courtesy of Mexican War Streets Society
A participant of the Annual MWSS Progressive Dinner 2013 prepares a dish for the evening.

By Alyse Horn

The 8th Annual Mexican War Streets Progressive Dinner will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 22.

The event works like a pub crawl, but trade the booze for food and the bars are houses.

The event is held by the Mexican War Streets Society, and member Susan Kosy arranges the event.

Kosy said the event was created to let people meet and converse with neighbors they have never talked to before, and that a wide range of ages and interests attend the event.

“We welcome everybody who would like to come, it’s not just for the War Streets,” Kosy said.

Kosy said that once everyone has signed up, she divides the participants into groups of about 10 people who will then separately travel from one house to the next.

Each house offers a different course, such as appetizers and entrées, and then for dessert all of the groups merge to mingle at the final house.

Kosy said the MWSS provides dessert, bread and wine, but the rest is up to participants to provide.

Due to popular demand, Kosy said the theme for this year is Italian food. Those who wish to contribute food for the evening are given a menu that Kosy creates and can then can choose an item to make from the menu.

Kosy said she is mindful of people who have allergies, and also tends not to overrun the menu with red meat, pork or shellfish.

The menu is not created until everyone has signed up, so Kosy can plan accordingly to those who have allergies. If someone does have an allergy, he or she should notify Kosy upon signing up for the dinner.

Kosy said once everyone has signed up, she spends her time organizing the menu, groups and houses. She also tries to mix up the groups every year so everyone is meeting new people.

As of Wednesday, February 5, Kosy said 57 people were signed up to participate and usually around 80 sign up in the end. Kosy said there is still room for anyone who would like to make a dish for the event.

The cost is $20 for MWSS members and $25 for non-members.

The deadline for participating in the event is Monday, February 10. To reserve a spot, fill out this flier and email it to Kosy at skosy666@aol.com.