by Iris

Sharing food has always been an important part of any Thanksgiving celebration. At ABC, we host a Baked Goods Potluck in all three stores to represent that part of Thanksgiving Day. But starting in 1994 and lasting until well in the 2000s, we used to organize a full-blown dinner!

“We hosted our first Thanksgiving Dinner in 1994, held in the Singel Kerk together with our AIDS buddies—a nod of respect to so many of our early colleagues who died from the disease. The dishwasher overflowed; it couldn’t handle all the leftover mashed potatoes, and panic took over the kitchen. Everyone was invited to perform music or share writing or a poem—a prelude to our Open Mic Night.
Once we rented the ABC Treehouse space in 1998, we were able to host a semi-potluck Thanksgiving Dinner the right way—with kids running around, wine spills on the floor, laughter and meetings of old friends and new.

When we lost the ABC Treehouse, the dinner also had to go. Luckily, Gary Feingold of Café Belcampo was willing to hold Thanksgiving there, with the same catering crew.”

You can read the full post from our archives here. And should you be interested, tickets for this year’s Thanksgiving Dinner at Belcampo are still available here!

So while the days of Thanksgiving Dinner at ABC are behind us, we didn’t want to let go of this festive, communal part of the celebration altogether. Hence the Baked Goods Potluck! These past few years, we’ve been inviting everyone to bring baked goods to the store on Thanksgiving Day, and we’ve consistently been blown out of the water by your delicious creations.

Are you thinking you might like to participate? Here’s how it works: on the day of Thanksgiving, drop off your baked goods at whichever one of our stores you prefer. Sweet or savory, either is perfect — anything you fancy making and sharing. It’s best if you cut, slice or dice your creation in advance (that way we don’t have to leave big knives out in the store), but we’ll take care of plates, bowls, forks & spoons. We’ll ask you to fill in a quick form listing any allergens that might be in your dish, just to be safe. All bakers will receive a little gift voucher as a token of our appreciation.

We’ll see you on November 27th! You can find the full itinerary for Amsterdam, The Hague and Leidschendam on our Events page.