Causeway invites all of Chattanooga to the sixth annual Gratefull, a community-wide Thanksgiving potluck in the middle of Martin Luther King Boulevard in front of the Bessie Smith Hall, on Monday, Nov. 25 from 11:30 a..m-1:30 p.m.
Over the last five years, Gratefull has grown from 700 attendees to 1,800 in 2018, in addition to being covered by The Washington Post. This year, a predicted 2,000 Chattanoogans from all walks of life will join together to give thanks and share a Thanksgiving meal in the middle of MLK Boulevard.
The table will be over 200 feet long, lined with flower arrangements from Petaline Floral Studio. Music from various choirs and a grand piano provided by Summitt Pianos will fill the streets as residents, area employees, families and friends line up for a potluck lunch. Chattanoogans who otherwise may never have met, will break bread together to connect over food and conversation.
“Gratefull is an opportunity for everyone to come together to connect, no matter your background. Whiteboard loves how Causeway and Gratefull remove barriers and bring people together from across Chattanooga to build understanding and friendship,” said Eric Brown, with Whiteboard, who is the presenting sponsor of the event this year.
Gratefull is made possible through corporate and individual sponsors, as well as partnerships with local restaurants. In addition to Whiteboard, major financial support for this year’s event also comes from Delegator, Dish T’Pass, Kelly Subaru, Mojo Burrito, and Unum. Dish T’ Pass will provide the turkey and dressing while restaurants like Mojo Burrito, Neidlov’s, Community Pie, Main Street Meats, Frothy Monkey, Plus Coffee, Feed Table & Tavern and Dwell Hotel will provide large side dishes to share. Attendees are also encouraged to bring a ready-to-serve dish to share, if they are able. For a full list of sponsors and partners participating in Gratefull this year, visit
causeway.org/gratefull. If you would like to support Causeway’s community engagement work through Gratefull, you may do so by donating to Causeway’s Buy Your Neighbor Lunch campaign.
Now in its sixth year, Gratefull has been replicated in other regional cities and will be held this year in Huntsville, Al., Greenville, SC, Dalton, Ga., and Milan, Tn.
“Gratefull has been replicated several times over the past few years, but we’re very excited that this year it will be at scale in several major cities across the southeast, including Dalton, Greenville, and Huntsville. The idea that this meal can bring people together not just in our own city, but across our region, is very heartwarming and right in line with our original vision,” said Causeway Executive Director Abby Garrison.
For other cities looking to host Gratefull in their city next year, Causeway hosts a website which showcases other participating cities and provides a free replication guide.