SHELBURNE FALLS – After a four-year haitus, the Iron Bridge Dinner returned this past weekend with its iconic long dinner table set up in the middle of the street.

“We decided to pick it up and resurrect it again,” said Jennifer Pease, president of the Mohawk Athletic Association, which organized this year’s dinner.

Mohawk Trail Regional School skiers, soccer players, field hockey players and many other athletes ran back and forth across the bridge all Sunday night serving trays of delicious food to their supporters.

For the first 19 years of the tradition, the Greater Shelburne Falls Area Business Association organized the dinner as a fundraiser for the group. During the pandemic, the group disbanded leaving the annual dinner without a group to host the event.

For years, Mohawk Trail Region School athletes were hired as waitstaff for the dinner where they would receive a stipend for their sports programs for volunteering. Being involved in the past, the athletic organization decided to take over the entire event for the village.

The waitstaff, all athletes in seventh through 12th grade, served the guests food, and athletes in third through sixth grade served drinks. All the money raised Sunday will go directly to the Mohawk Athletic Association which raises funds to offset the cost of athletic programs for kindergarten through 12th graders.

“This means we can get better gear for our teams and have more kids play sports,” said Emily Sisum, who is entering her senior year as a student athlete at Mohawk Trail Regional School.

The group hoped to serve 250 guests, but found the greater community purchased less presale tickets than in previous years. Pease said this is the first year back and that she hopes the event can become a big fundraiser moving forward.

In the past, local restaurants served food at the dinner, though the association hired Bash Catering, based out in Greenfield, for the night. Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters and Mo’s Fudge Factory donated goodies for the guests as well.

“It is a lot of work, but we have had so much support from the towns,” Pease said. “There is a lot of support and pride here in our community. We are fortunate that people can step up and help out.”

Bella Carmela Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com