KENNEBUNK — Sometimes being in middle school comes with benefits.

Students at the Middle School of the Kennebunks, for example, didn’t have to wait until next week to sample traditional Thanksgiving favorites such as turkey and mashed potatoes, stuffing and pie; those aromas filled the school’s auditorium on Wednesday as students, teachers and senior citizens from around the community gathered for an annual feast that has become as much of a tradition as Thanksgiving itself.

Aside from providing a preamble to the holiday, the event also gives teens and pre-teens an opportunity to interact with members of another generation, said eighth-grade team leader Paul Bibeau. It’s an opportunity for “interaction between groups that don’t normally mingle,” he said.

And it’s grown impressively throughout the years.

Bibeau remembers a time, more than 20 years ago now, when the gathering was a simple breakfast for the eighth-grade class. As time passed, the school started inviting area seniors to share the meal, and around five years ago, the event exploded: Both halves of the eighth grade got involved, more seniors made the trek, and the festive shindig was punctuated by musical acts, dance performances and other entertainment provided by MSK students.

This year, the event attracted the attention of WCSH-6 meteorologist Kevin Mannix, who greeted attendees and shared with them some fun Thanksgiving-related weather trivia, such as the biggest snowfall in recent memory to occur on the holiday ”“ a “doozy” that dumped between 20-30 inches of the white stuff in 1987.

“I really am honored to be here,” said Mannix, “and to share the morning with the students and the seniors both.”

Of those students, many said they were looking forward to the pies and desserts in particular ”“ all of which were donated by parents, family and school staff. Student Ally Coughlan said she would have a hard time, once at the dessert table, picking out a favorite; classmate Kenzie Genest, who contributed one of the morning’s performances, echoed that sentiment, and added that it was a thrill to showcase her abilities in front of so many strangers.

Others were blown away by what they saw.

“It’s really cool to see your peers doing things you don’t normally see in school,” said student Allie Gregoire. “It’s kind of cool how a community can get together like this.”

The seniors ”“ many with bright smiles on their faces ”“ were comprised of grandparents, those who have attended in previous years and first-time attendees who were alerted to the event by flyers, mailings and notices from senior centers.

The main course, said Bibeau, was paid for almost entirely by a $1,700 donation from Biddeford Savings Bank.

Bibeau said he hoped that both groups, seniors and students alike, will come away from the meal less intimidated by interactions with their respective generations, and with a more fully realized sense of community.

“I think that’s what it’s really about, is community,” he said.

— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 319 or jlagasse@journaltribune.com.