“It came about because there was a demand,” says Harris, who helped plan last summer’s event. The most recent took place in August 2021 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and because of COVID-19, it drew only about 50 people - down from a pre-pandemic range of 80 to 100. Most were for his father’s family and reunited branches of his African American family from southern Virginia and New Jersey. He may have skipped that family reunion in 1973, but he and his wife, Myrna, have been to dozens of them since. “It was the week I met my wife, and I declined,” says Harris, who lives in Swedesboro, New Jersey, and is a former marketing and communications executive. In fact, he was too busy falling in love to attend his family’s first reunion. Doug Harris says family reunions have been a constant for much of his life. But they have grown into major events.” “When are we going to have the reunion?” “These reunions were organized to pass down history and impart values - to support the family and extended family in the various ways that were needed. “One of our mottoes is that family reunions are more than a picnic,” Holloman says. These family gatherings can encourage attendees to delve into genealogy, address family health issues and foster social supports such as youth mentoring. But reunions can be more than a big party or a celebration, says Suzanne Vargus Holloman, co-director of the Family Reunion Institute. Many families are anxious to get back to holding reunions, both large and small, after postponing them because of the pandemic. A family reunion is a way to connect, keep ties strong, share insights about family history and just plain enjoy the company of relatives who live near and far.
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