The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the affair the past two years, but it didn't kill Little Compton's community spirit. The town will once again break bread this Sunday.

So far, more than 400 people have signed up for the third (almost annual) Little Compton Community Dinner, scheduled for this coming Sunday, Sept. 11, at the Commons.

Started in 2018 as a way to boost community spirit and celebrate the coming autumn, the dinner drew more than 500 people at its last running in 2019. Lily Clark, who is helping organize this year's event, said she believes this year's turnout will surpass that.

The dinner is a true community affair. Not a fund-raiser, it's more an informal potluck and a chance for friends to get together around a good meal, celebrating the pleasure of a later summer afternoon in each other's presence.

"The only goal is to eat and get to know each other," she said.

Barbara Passmore helped found the event four years ago, taking the idea from a town in Colorado that held a similar function. Everyone brings their own dinner, there's plenty of dessert sharing, and last time there were lots of leftovers that were brought home or shared with Little Compton's firefighters, police officers and other public employees.

Organizers will close off the roads around the common at 1:30 p.m., and guests are asked to start setting up tables and mingle at 3 p.m. Passmore will ring the dinner bell at 4 p.m., and cleanup begins at 6 p.m. All you need to bring are dinner, plates, cutlery, a table cloth if you'd like, and anything else you want to jazz up the table. Tables, chairs and trash bins will be provided, and restrooms in town hall and the community center will be open.

Residents who want to attend are asked to register for a table, and they can do so either by calling 635-8692 or on the dinner's website, www.lccommunitydinner.com. Note that there is no alcohol allowed, and no pets please (apart from service animals).