Food for Thought: Gumbo Night

Even in the wake of Bellevue’s recent budget crisis, the Bellevue Youth Council has continued an annual community tradition - Gumbo Night.

On March 9, over thirty youth and adults gathered in a single house to converse, build bonds, and of course, eat gumbo. During this event, hosted by, youth had the opportunity to become more familiar with the adults who are in charge of city issues and vice versa.

In my three years of attending Gumbo Night as part of the Youth Council, I have never seen any participants who were not preoccupied with getting to know other attendees.

This annual event allows council members to connect with one another outside of the formal meeting environment of City Hall. It all goes toward building a connected council that can work more effectively to serve the community as a whole.

Said Grindeland, “I’ve been hosting this event for around fifteen years and each year I’m amazed at how the youth and adults get along.”

Alex Tang writes for , a publication of .