For day-trippers and tourists consumed by the beauty of the rugged coastline and seemingly sleepy town of Pescadero, the white flyers reading “Annual Wild Game & Fish Feed” might have been easy to miss, if not a little confusing. To locals though, they announced the return of a unique town tradition.

On Saturday, Pescaderans gathered for a crowded, rowdy feast consisting almost exclusively of wild game and fish hunted, prepared and donated by community members, all in the name of preserving history and community.

Almost everything about the Annual Wild Game and Fish Feed feels from another era– from the meal’s heavy reliance on hunting and the land, to the very building in which the event is held. The dinner is hosted by the Pebble Beach chapter of the Native Sons of the Golden West, a social club focused on preserving gold rush-era California history, and takes place in a Victorian Gothic style church now owned and operated as a community hall by the organization.

The Native Sons have been renovating and improving the historic building over the last several years using proceeds from events like the wild game feed, but members are careful to keep the building as authentic as possible, hiring local carpenters and using similar materials whenever possible. Proceeds from the wild game feed support both the preservation of the community hall and the Pescadero High School senior class trip at the end of the year.

As rain poured outside, men in camouflage hats and aprons hustled around the kitchen and huddled around the grill on the deck, all working diligently to prepare whatever meat dish they volunteered to serve up to the crowd for the evening.

Rich Calabretta, a Native Sons member from San Carlos, put finishing touches on a creamy elk stroganoff in the kitchen. While the elk in the dish was hunted by another member, Calabretta donated pheasants he hunted in Ione for an artichoke and cream dish, and duck which he hunted at another member’s property in Idaho for a barbecue duck cacciatore. The night’s menu also included dishes such as goat curry, baked salmon, antelope sausages and venison steak.

By 6 p.m., dishes and appetizers prepared at people’s houses were also pouring into the hall’s kitchen. Pescadero High School seniors, who volunteer for the event, serve appetizers of elk salami, Pescadero venison meatballs and elk “beef” strips to guests as they start to make their way into the hall.

While no one seems to know exactly how many years this event has been going on everyone in attendance seems to know exactly what they are in for. According to Frank Vento, president of the Pebble Beach chapter of the Native Sons, the 100-person dinner sells out quickly every year. It’s largely repeat customers and the lucky friends they happen to invite.