Lafayette Community Thanksgiving Breakfast
Contributing Photo/Holly Sonne
By Jayden DiPrisco and Federica Fregola, Staff Writers
As the leaves fall along Mount Diablo Boulevard and families get ready for the holiday season, the city of Lafayette hosts its 46th annual Community Thanksgiving Breakfast.
The Lafayette Community Thanksgiving Breakfast took place on Nov. 18 from 7:00 to 8:30 a.m. at the Lafayette Veterans Memorial Hall. The event brings community leaders, representatives, and citizens together to kick off the holidays.
The event consists of a multi-part program, starting with a welcome from the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce president, a reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance, and a reading of the Lafayette Indigenous Land Acknowledgement Statement. This was followed by breakfast, when the event's socializing took place.
“We mingled, made small talk, connected with people we knew and those that we didn’t. It was a chance to come together as a community,” attendee and co-founder of the Bay Area dance studio Joy in Motion Justin Cole said.
Sunrise Bistro, a Bay Area company, catered the event, and the food served changes year to year.
“This year we had their quiche, wonderful pastries, and a great selection of fruit… "It's not an elaborate breakfast, but it was really good and a way to kick off the holiday season,” Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Director of Operations Holly Sonne said.
Following breakfast, the Sunflower Hill organization, a non-profit that works to co-develop long-term residential options for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, carried out a presentation.
“[At the event] I spoke about how Lafayette is such a community of character and inclusiveness, dating back to when Las Trampas opened in 1958,” Project Leader for Sunflower Hill Rosemary Kirbach said.
To wrap up the presentation, presenters Kirbach, Adrienne Steichen, and Rob Combi shared their experiences with the Lafayette community and inclusivity. The message that Sunflower Hill strives for is to create a world where people of all abilities are welcomed and uplifted.
“It is always important to hear that there is support and care for whatever it is you might need support with,” Cole said. “We all have struggles, and we all have different things we are going through. It’s always nice to know we are not alone.”
The event dates back to the 1970s, possibly making it one of the longest-running events in Chamber history. The event has changed over the years, and its location has too.
“For years, it was often held at one of our local churches. But due to space, we've been holding it at the Lafayette Veterans Memorial Center for the past few years,” Sonne said.
The entry fee for the event was $45 per person, or $360 for a table. The money collected invests itself back into the community.
“The funds actually did go to the Chamber, but it's not a moneymaker. We use it to pay for the breakfast, the music, and any advertising, any of the costs that are associated with it,” Sonne said.
The messages from this year's event raised awareness on the importance of acceptance of all abilities and acted as a festive way to start off the holiday season by bringing the community together.
“This event, in particular, opened my eyes to the fact that the Lafayette community is really going to help those with different needs as they get older, or those who have parents that might not be there for them,” Cole said. “It showed me that the Lafayette community is really looking out for the best interest of everyone.”
