The rain stayed away and the diners came in; Escalon’s Nuts For Life team hosted their annual drive-thru tri tip dinner to benefit the Relay For Life of Escalon on Saturday evening, March 4. Though skies clouded up and the wind whipped a bit, no raindrops fell while crews cooked up the tri tip and then delivered the meals to those driving in for the meal for four.

“We had 160 and we sold out, plus we had lots of calls this last week,” said team co-captain Suzanne Longstreth. “We’re going to raise our numbers next year.”

All 160 dinners were sold; each included the full barbecued tri tip, four baked potatoes, a bag of salad, a loaf of French bread and a two-liter bottle of soda.

“We had a lot of people here today, about 15 or 16 on the crew,” Longstreth added of the volunteers helping cook and serve up the dinners.

Proceeds will benefit the Nuts For Life team in their fundraising for the 2017 Relay in Escalon, set for May 20 and 21 at Escalon High School.

The next gathering to plan the event is tonight, Wednesday, March 8 at the Escalon Community Ambulance Station on Ullrey Avenue. Committee members meet at 5:45 p.m. and the team captain meeting is at 6:30 p.m.; all interested in learning more about Relay For Life are encouraged to attend tonight’s meeting. New teams are especially being sought for this year and more information is available by contacting Dena Pimentel at the American Cancer Society, 209-996-3665.