The gargantuan task of preparing a homemade spaghetti dinner for almost 2,000 people starts two weeks before the annual dinner is held. That's when the Ladies Altar Society begins the arduous task of making 3,500+ meatballs - and all in one day!

Janie Sampolesi shapes her share of the 3,500 meatballs.

Rosemary Reginelli's capable hands work at warp speed - and have made tens of thousands of meatballs over the course of 40 years in the Altar Society.

Hundreds of perfectly shaped meatballs await the deep fryers.

Patty Zieman (foreground) and Anita P. Norcross are in charge of the deep fryers and are experts at knowing exactly when the meatballs are perfectly done.

It only takes about 8 minutes for the meatballs to cook, around 90 at a time.

Golden brown, moist and divinely delicious, the next step is allowing the meatballs to cool completely.

The meatballs are then stored in hundreds of air tight containers and frozen until the day before the dinner.

Next up - making the dough for the homemade pasta! Over 150 dozen eggs (that's 1,800 eggs!!)...

...and almost 250 pounds of flour are used to make the pasta dough!

To make perfect pasta, Cecelia Jasey first kneads the dough - a small amount at a time - over and over until it's smooth and elastic.

Then Gino Olivi, Bob Mazzanti and other volunteers roll and press the dough into long, paper thin sheets.

Betty Rossini and Bea Mazzanti lay out the pasta and allow it to dry briefly.

Then Ida Rossini gathers the delicate sheets, never once letting them tear. Amazing!

More volunteers put the thin sheets through cutters and viola, spaghetti!

The spaghetti then dries overnight on dozens of cloth-covered tables.

The dried pasta is then stored in paper bags. After two days of non-stop work, 300 pounds of homemade pasta is ready to go. Talk about a labor of love!

You can't eat spaghetti and meatballs without bread, can you? Fresh and hot from the oven, 300+ loaves of homemade Italian bread are baked over several days.

After cooling, the bread is immediately wrapped in airtight bags.

Anne and Bob Mazzanti are masters in the art of bread baking and have been in charge of this massive task for years. With the help of Anne Davis, they freeze the wrapped loaves.

Catherine Havercamp (left) and her daughter, Chamber President Anita P. Norcross, make table centerpieces using carnations dyed the colors of the Italian flag.

On the day before the dinner, it's time for the gentlemen to make the spaghetti sauce. Mike Zieman is charged with the first step: opening dozens of cans of tomato paste.

The tried and true ingredients for the sauce are on display and each recipe makes about 12 gallons. Around 175 gallons are made in all. That's a lot of tomatoes!

Michael Mencer is in charge of getting just the right amount of spices into each pot - and boy, does he know his sauce!

The sauce simmers overnight before the meatballs are added and heated through.

Who wants dessert? Angela Hatch is the queen of sweets and really cuts the cake!

Angela and her team are responsible for baking the 60+ angel food cakes with lemon custard and whipped cream topping. Heavenly!

On the day of the dinner, Steve Ferri and Cecilia Jasey make gallons of Italian salad. Their perfect vinaigrette makes for a perfect accompaniment to the sauce.