Yellowknife sobering centre ends the year with Christmas dinner

Dozens of people at Yellowknife's sobering centre hunkered down on Friday over a hot Christmas meal, thanks to the generosityof one local business.

Armed with ladles, Explorer Hotel staffserved up turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes to about 90 people.It's thesame holiday meal the hotel serves its own patrons, said the hotel's food and beverage manager, Jean Paquette.

"Some people don't have the advantage to have a nice Christmas dinner," said Paquette."At least we can give them something."

This is the third-annual Christmas dinner run by the Explorer Hotel staff and the first Christmas dinner at Yellowknife's new sobering centre.

The goal is to keep the tradition going for years to come, said Paquette.

"You know [the holidays] are a time for giving," he said."We know that there's a crowd of people that cannot enjoy the restaurant. So we'd like to bring the restaurant to them."