While the holidays are all about gathering around the table with your loved ones, that isn’t always possible.
People are often unable to go home to their family or spend the holidays alone.
A local gathering group in San Francisco continues a tradition at Dolores Park where strangers gather to celebrate a Friendsgiving Potluck.
“I had a lot of students, a lot of foreign students who were here and they were having a hard time during the holidays. They didn’t know what to do and they had no idea how to celebrate Thanksgiving because their family is abroad. So this was for prompted me to start this Friendsgiving event,” Roderick Portales, the potluck host, told CBS News Bay Area.
Portales is the founder of SF Bable, an international cultural exchange group. He started organizing the potluck about six years ago.
“I ask everyone not to bring a big dish, but a small dish that everyone can share together,” he said.
The tradition quickly grew every year. The event was not only intended for foreign exchange students, but for anyone who is alone during the holidays.
“Unfortunately, I’m not going home right now. And I wanted to spend Thanksgiving with other people and meet other people,” Edwin Omorogbe-Akpata, who lives in San Francisco, told CBS News Bay Area.
He moved to the Bay Area earlier this year for his engineering job.
The event is also a special meeting for people interested in potentially moving to the city.
“Before you move somewhere, you want to make sure you have the right people there and that it’s a fit. I saw this online and thought, ‘Hey, what a great place to meet other people.’ And you know, if they don’t have family or friends in town, they can start making new friends,” a man named John, who did not want to share his last name, told CBS News Bay Area.
“I feel like I’m building a great community and people stay connected even when they go abroad. They live very far away, they still stay connected with me and also with the other members,” said Portals.
From strangers to friends, the potluck has made Thanksgiving even more memorable.
