Rancho Bernardo community gathers for early Thanksgiving celebration

by Elizabeth Marie Himchak

Over 200 Rancho Bernardo community members kicked off the holiday season by attending the 37th annual Rancho Bernardo Thanksgiving Celebration.

The event — formerly the RB Community Thanksgiving Luncheon — was held at the Rancho Bernardo Inn on Nov. 20. It is a fundraiser for the Rancho Bernardo Community Foundation, which distributed $100,000 in community grants during the event. (See related story, Page A1.)

“With our busy schedules it is nice to spend time together, if only for a few hours, with old friends and colleagues we don’t always get a chance to see throughout the year,” said Debbie Kurth, the RB Community Foundation’s president and Thanksgiving Celebration chair.

She said the event is a much loved tradition for longtime community members, who view it as the official start to the holiday season.

See more photos at PomeradoNews.com.

Rancho Bernardo Community Foundation President and Thanksgiving Celebration chair Debbie Kurth, Assemblymember Darshana Patel and the Rev. Jay Bananal, pastor of San Rafael Catholic Parish, who gave the invocation at the Rancho Bernardo Thanksgiving Celebration. (Elizabeth Marie Himchak)