In order to bond with fellow members and embrace the holiday, Marquette Cru participates in a Thanksgiving crawl every year. The event takes place the weekend before Thanksgiving and allows students to enjoy an affordable Thanksgiving dinner by dividing the feast up among four different hosts. Cru, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ, is a campus ministry group dedicated to growing and learning together in Jesus Christ.

Cru leader Rebecca Heinen said the event relies on four students who volunteer their apartments to host sections of the meal. The hosts decide among themselves who will make the turkey, two sides and dessert. Students who sign up to attend the event receive time slots designating when they should arrive at a certain apartment. Cru’s social team breaks up the group so there are only four to five guests in an apartment at once.

“The smaller groups are meant to encourage people to talk and get to know each other better,” Heinen said. “It helps make the gathering more intimate.”

The event follows a timed schedule to ensure that all guests enjoy the four courses of the meal. Guests spend about 20 minutes sitting down and eating, with 10 minutes to transfer apartments. Before moving on the next course of the meal, guests take a plate of food to bring to the next host, ensuring that all hosts enjoy every aspect of the meal, not just endless helpings of turkey or pumpkin pie.

“The event is different from a pot luck,” Heinen said. “Only hosts have to prepare food, while guests have the luxury to just come and enjoy.”

Since the event revolves around a rotation, there is no specific order to eating the dishes. This means participants may be able to complete every toddlers’ dream of eating dessert first. Heinen said hosts enjoy preparing interesting side dishes from carrot soup to mystery stew. The surprises are meant to ensure that participants do not get bored with the same meal every year.

After everyone’s stomachs are stuffed and all apartments have been visited, everyone gathers at a central location to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening. In years past, they have played board games or over-the-top versions of charades.

“One year, we had a three-hour campfire on a big screen T.V.” Heinen said. “It really added to the cozy holiday feel.”

Another event Cru sponsors similar to the Thanksgiving crawl is “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?!” Participants receive an address of someone hosting a meal, but do not know who the host is until they arrive. The host prepares the main course of the meal, while guests bring a side dish to complement the main course.

“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?!”also serves as an opportunity to strengthen relationships among Cru members. The event is normally held at the end of October, but any group of people looking to become closer could host one of these dinners anytime throughout the school year.

Although the Thanksgiving Crawl is a Cru tradition, the event is easy enough for any group of students to do. Dividing the meal up between four apartments ensures that no one is spending too much money and minimizes the mess caused by a formal Thanksgiving dinner. Guests can help hosts by pitching in money for the food or assisting with preparation. The Thanksgiving Crawl gives students an opportunity to celebrate with the people they have grown to consider family here at Marquette.