At least once a year, during the fourth Saturday in August, downtown Greenfield radiates with positivity, joy, and a deep sense of connectedness. Our coming Harvest Supper, to be shared and served on The Greenfield Common between 4 p.m. and 7 pm. next Saturday, Aug. 24, is a shining example of what one community can do when it puts its heads, hearts, minds, and hands together.

It is as ambitious an undertaking as any in Franklin County: It takes nearly 160 volunteers close to 1,400 hours over several weeks to pull this off. And it is with the ultimate spirit of collaboration, cooperation, hope, and relationship-building that our outdoor Harvest Supper comes together.

As with all else that is meaningful in life, it has its challenges. Working with nearly 60 vendors from three counties in western Massachusetts, we are gifted with the late summer bounty from farms, bakeries, creameries, markets, and the creative and deft hands of volunteer cooks and staff from The Stone Soup Cafe to bring this to life every summer. We offer profound thoughts of gratitude to Wally and Juanita Nelson, who planted the seeds for what has become a large and inclusive annual summer event.

Other challenges? We are highly dependent on ”uncontrollables” such as the weather, the health of all involved, complex transportation modalities, and the scores of appliances involved, to name but a few. But always, we can count on four things that bring people together and make community an exercise in unity: goodwill, clear intention, vision, and diligence.

As a longtime volunteer chef at Stone Soup, and recent interim board president, it always amazes me to experience and observe sometimes up to 1,000 people in a very small area manifesting great energy and care with one another, almost no matter what. This event goes forth both because of and despite every challenge that comes before us.

Let’s dig in a bit here as to the nuts and bolts that make this event so extraordinary.

First, there is a willingness, along with a strong and deep determination, to give back to our local community. It seems that everyone wants to be part of this — we’ve actually created our own local food chain, enabling this annual event to be a genuine “farm to fork” experience. Local folk pitch in through such a variety of ways: growing food, delivering food, dicing, cutting, cooking, serving, cleaning — and that’s only the food part. It’s all local — the people, the facilities, the calories, and the love that brings it all together.

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And then — there’s all that decoration, entertainment, a “really and truly free” store for all, kid-based activities, laughter, stories, and through everything, incredible camaraderie. This year, we will be holding our first ever Art Auction, highlighting and supporting the incredible and varied gifts of those who make up our artistic and creative community! We continue to find new ways of building a sustainable community, and art and music are integral aspects.

Why do we do this? Why is so much energy, time, and expense drawn upon to create a pop-up community event? Why do so many of our neighbors, friends, and colleagues volunteer in so many ways for this? Not to be too cliché, but, the answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind … we pick ourselves and one another up for this heavy and beautiful lift because doing so is a difference-maker in the lives of over 1,000 people.

No matter what and where you come from, you are part of this — just showing up matters. Precious few of us come from here originally, but we’ve all made it here. And the Harvest Supper is about sharing bounty, community, connection. It all happens the way it does because so many hands make lighter the work involved and make greater the extent of joy and engagement that comes out of all this effort.

We think about this as “hard work and heart work” in which every ingredient counts — especially each one of us!

Daily, we learn and hear about — and often directly experience — the struggles involved in daily living in Franklin County. In a way, this is not news. But it is life, it is about our lives. Similar to just a few other open, inclusive, and community-wide events, Harvest Supper brings Greenfield and beyond into one location, for one meal, for one cause: to build, enjoy, and reflect, on being together.

Is this an antidote to all the challenges we face? Regardless of our individual response, those involved in the planning and implementation of Harvest Supper know that it is one of the local experiences that generates excitement, energy, and goodwill.

As a community member who proudly wears many hats at The Stone Soup Cafe that pulls this together, I love observing and engaging in the passionate and collaborative spirit and energy that Harvest Supper brings, start to finish. It exemplifies all that is good and well with our community — and there are no strings attached. Whether each of us decides to volunteer in some way, or to come and eat and be present, our presence is our present.

And Harvest Supper is indeed a gift for all. We’ll unwrap this annual giving-sharing-receiving once again this coming Saturday (Sunday if rain). Come and be part of this next chapter of this annual story!

Daniel Cantor Yalowitz writes a regular column in the Recorder. A developmental and intercultural psychologist, he has facilitated change in many organizations and communities around the world. His two most recent books are “Journeying with Your Archetypes” and “Reflections on the Nature of Friendship.” Reach out to him at danielcyalowitz@gmail.com.