Here's Tukwila on a table -- Filipino lechon, Mexican quesadillas, samosas, summery salads, piles of southern fried chicken, Ohio corn muffins, and Chinese hom bow.
When you take the rich diversity of this Seattle suburb and assemble it on a paper plate, you're bound to draw a crowd.
“We have been knocking on doors, talking to people in the community, going to the different churches, telling everybody to come out and just meet your neighbor, that's what it's all about,” said Verna Seal, one of the organizers of Come Sit at Our Table, a huge potluck held Saturday afternoon.
It’s part of a growing effort to push back on some of the negative headlines that mention Tukwila. The community, under the guidance of a new group called Action Tukwila, wants people to also see the good things happening there.
Perhaps you remember a huge police and FBI raid three years ago at a troubled complex of motels, rampant with drugs and prostitution. Well they've torn those down. Now, that property can be a gathering space for neighbors to listen to global melodies.
“Tukwila gets misrepresented, it's a beautiful community with great diversity," said Thomas McLeod, who has lived there for 30 years. "We are breaking down barriers and there's a tremendous unity here in Tukwila."
It didn't help any when a home security system industry website declared Tukwila America's most dangerous city earlier this year, and the story got thousands of clicks. That kind of reputation can be difficult to shake.
“We said that's not us, and we want to do something about it,” said McLeod.
Through gatherings like the potluck, Tukwila hopes newcomers will taste another, more meaningful layer of the local culture, and want to come back for seconds.
