The biggest day for turkeys will soon be upon us, but not everyone will be featuring them on the Thanksgiving table this year. As Elyse Mickalonis tells us, one organization held a special dinner party to honor their feathered friend and hopefully change some minds this holiday season.

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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - A freshly tossed salad, sweet potato pies and cranberries, but what kind of Thanksgiving dinner would it be without the turkey? About a dozen turkeys sat down to dinner as the guests of honor this Saturday in Watkins Glen.

"Today is a day we celebrate the lives of these turkeys,” said Susie Coston, Farm Sanctuary National Shelter Director. “They were all rescued from the industry. They had horrible lives and we’re trying to let people see you can have a compassionate Thanksgiving without taking a life."

The event was all part of Farm Sanctuary’s Celebration of the Turkeys. Visitors from as far away as California traveled to watch the turkeys feast, and some even served them.

"We got to feed them dinner instead of eating them for dinner,” said Aimee Ellis, Ithaca Resident.

Meena Colbdorf, Ithaca Resident, added, "They made lots of noises and sometimes spat out cranberries out of the salads and pies."

Many say they hope more people will rethink eating their feathered friends this holiday and switch to something meat-free.

"Today there are so many companies making substitute products; substitute hot dogs, corndogs turkey,” said Ellis. “It's very easy to have a cruelty-free lifestyle these days."

Workers say they’re happy to bring people to this event and show them that turkeys have personalities too.

"We're trying to get people to see these animals as individuals, because they are,” said Coston. “I think they come from an industry where there are thousands of birds and when you pick them out as individuals, they're really incredible. They all have different personalities and we're allowing people to get to know them."

Watching Thanksgiving's birds gobble at dinner instead of gobbling them up at yours.

The Farm Sanctuary also allows people to sign up and adopt a turkey. For more information on the program, you can visit the Farm Sanctuary's website at www.farmsanctuary.org