This year marked our 82nd continuous Strange Family Reunion and the first time we were back in person after three years of virtually meeting during the pandemic. We essentially had two themes for this family reunion: “Back Down Memory Lane” and “Celebrating Our Second Generation Legacies.” What we meant by “second generation” was second freeborn generation as in their parents were not born into slavery and neither were they.
Strange Family Shelter
Historically, our family reunion was held at my maternal grandparents’ home. Then under trees in the combined backyards of several extended family members near my grandparents’ home. Finally, many relatives built a permanent shelter on family land.
Before You Eat…
Our IRL reunions run Friday through Sunday. During the pandemic, we all became more tech savvy. To plan for this year’s event, we held near weekly Zoom meetings to discuss programing for the entire weekend, along with divvying up roles. I suggested that some family could be “voluntold” the day of the event to lend a helping hand.
Fish fry & Grill
Every day unfolded like a well rehearsed play with few hiccups. Friday kicked off with our usual fish fry. Over the years, the menu has expanded to include vegan options with this year’s introduction of fried corn, which was so popular that they ran out. There was also a modest vegan buffet.
Frying Corn
I filled my plate with fish and sides. I didn’t bother with any of the grilled offerings, which included Mom’s favorite: hot dogs.
Grilling
For the first time ever, we had a kitchen manager who’d set three different menus and she had dedicated kitchen volunteers for all three days. Everything was very well organized and delicious. Next year, we’re planning to have even more kitchen staff on Saturday since that’s our main programing day. I suggested contracting a clean up crew for the end of each day.
Friday Kitchen Staff
We honored 12 of our elders and sat them at a head table on Saturday. Instead of having to wait in line or even going first in line, the honorees simply circled items on a printed menu of their selections and a food runner brought them their plate. That was one of many of the big hits during the reunion.
Food Line
We also honored them on Saturday by having those who were able to walk down the red carpet, pose for pictures before being seated at the head table. My contributions to the program were to show a presentation that I created, which gave a brief biography for each honoree, followed by reading an “Oscar” blurb before the honoree or their representative accepted a gift bag.
Elders Eat First
All throughout the three-day reunion, I walked around taking video clips. I’d changed the settings on my cameraphone to 4K. I’d researched and discovered that my antiquated iPhone 8 had the capability to capture film quality footage. For this event, I tested it out.
Red Carpet Pose
Although I had other means of capturing the event, I enjoyed practicing with my camera like a filmmaker, especially on Sunday when we had church service at the shelter prior to our final day of breaking bread together.
Sunday Kitchen Staff
One of my relatives, sang two gospel songs. I used both of them as the soundtrack to the nearly 6-minute video summary of our reunion. I knew before the event began that I didn’t want to narrate the video as I’d done the “Celebrating Our Second Generation Legacies” presentation. Nor was I going to use the the audio associated with the clips because they would have far too much noise. Those two gospel songs were the perfect solution.
Additionally, those clips were much longer than necessary–over 35 minutes altogether. Some schools of thought state that it’s better to have more than what’s needed for editing purposes. With practice, I can be more selective and time conscious when taking B-roll shots. Nonetheless, I trimmed the fat and shared the video with the rest of the family as one of several documentations of our reunion.