It was a buffet feast at the Ethiopian Community Development Council at the 8th annual Refugees鈥� First Thanksgiving.
Sunday night鈥檚 free event was a prequel to the actual holiday, at the council’s center in Arlington, Virginia.
鈥淭his is a holiday that is celebrated in many American homes 鈥� since families will be staying with their families at home, we thought we would do the pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving so that people have an opportunity to come together and celebrate,鈥� Tsehaye Teferra, CEO of the Ethiopian Community Development Council, told those attending the potluck.
A tapestry of some of the world鈥檚 cultures were represented at the Refugees鈥� First Thanksgiving.
鈥淭here are traditional dishes, and then we have volunteers bringing in American traditional dishes, so just a really fun thing to see,鈥� said Yariana Rodriguez, the Resource Development Manager at the Ethiopian Community Development Council, Inc.
鈥淔rom my country, we have a very delicious kebab, Afghani kebab,鈥� said Nasir Ahmadzai. It was his first time at the event. He brought two dishes to share at the potluck.
Some volunteers made a slight trek to be there.
鈥淭his is our second year coming from Ashburn, about 45 minutes away,鈥� said Micheal Mullen. His daughter, Sitota, is originally from Ethiopia.
鈥淚 like cooking, helping in the kitchen and setting up. It鈥檚 really fun. I like hanging out with people and making new friends,鈥� she said.
Nathan Easington is a Howard University student who helped prepare some food.
鈥淭here were about 50, 60 chickens that we broke down which was quite a bit.鈥�
Attending and volunteering at the dinner was one way Easington is continuing his family鈥檚 tradition of community service 鈥� even though he鈥檒l be away from them this Thanksgiving.
