ROCKLAND — The Landings is an long-standing restaurant with a new life. Toys for Tots is long-standing organization that gives us reason to remember what Christmas is all about — children.

On Sunday, Dec. 8, the Landings Restaurant and Lounge, in conjunction with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, and in an unprecedented move of community, have invited other area restaurants to partner with them and serve their fare to the people attending this new event.

On this Sunday evening, for a $40 ticket and a new unwrapped toy, you can eat foods prepared by the Landings, In Good Company, Cafe Miranda, Bricks and Steve Dumas Catering, all in one place: The Landings Restaurant.  Each restaurant will have a station set up, where they have gotten together and decided on the types of foods that each will be presenting so that ticket holders will get a good variety of food cooked and served by each restaurant.

The shindig is scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. and tickets can be purchased at The Landings, The Reading Corner or the Grasshopper Shop. Each ticket purchased will include a raffle ticket and one drink voucher, as well as some substantial snacking opportunities. Every additional new unwrapped toy you bring that night will earn you another raffle ticket. Can't make it? You can still make a donation, or drop off some new toys at the Landings, an official drop-off point for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

The current raffle list includes: $50 gift certificate from The Landings Restaurant and Lounge; a pre-lit Christmas Tree, courtesy of Lowes; one night at The Hampton Inn; $50 from Casey's Creative Cupcakes; a growler with a refill from Rock Harbor Brewing Company; five $20 car washes at Park Street Car Wash in Rockland; one $12 haircut at Frank's Family Hair Care; two $24 train rides, Brooks Preservation Society-Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad; one $65 Coastal Children Museum family membership; one $50 guest discount at LimeRock Inn, with many more to be added. Area businesses are encouraged to donate raffle items to add to the list. The more raffle items, the more people that come and the more Toys for Tots.

Nationwide, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation uses less then 3 percent of the money raised to run the foundation. Ninety-seven percent of every dollar raised here in Knox County stays in Knox County to help local children.

The Toy for Tots Shindig was the brainchild of Landings Manager Molly Miller Staples. Staples is part of the Miller Restaurant family that owns and operates The Landings and Bricks in Rockland.

Her husband, Sam Staples, is deployed and serving the country in the military right now and with a new child in the family, Molly said she had been thinking of a way that could bring some local businesses together to help each other survive, honor her family of Marine, Navy and Army members and be part of this time of the year. Enter the Marine Toys for Tots, one of the organizations that come out in full force this time of year and make Christmas for many less fortunate families a real adventure. This fit perfectly what Molly wanted to do to give back.

During the Shindig, there will also be a live band upstairs, Lebish and Grinnell. There will be two open cash bars, one downstairs and one upstairs. Raffle prizes given out every hour and you do not need to be present to win.

This will also be an opportunity to meet the chefs from the participating restaurants, including Max Miller from The Landings Restaurant; Kerry Altiero from Cafe Miranda; Melody Wolfertz from In Good Company; Bricks Restaurant; and desserts by Steven Dumas Catering.

A U.S. Marine color guard will be performing at 4:15 p.m. Toys for Tots Foundation will also be honoring last year’s top toy-gatherers from Knox County.

Buy your tickets online or make a donation here.

Ron Hawkes can be reached at sports@penbaypilot.com