Chanel Lumiere, Trey Cartier and Chela Demuir pose for a photo before enjoying a hot meal at the 2019 TransGiving Dinner. (photo courtesy of Chela Demuir)

In November 1999, while some Angelenos were preparing for the turn of the millennium, Chela Demuir was trying not to burn her mashed potatoes.

Demuir, the president and executive director of Unique Woman’s Coalition, was preparing a last-minute Thanksgiving meal for a few members of the Los Angeles transgender community.

At the time, Demuir was working with Minority AIDS Project to provide transgender individuals with a space focused on self-love.

Each week, the organization would partner with a local church to give food to the community. After several months of weekly meals, the organization sent a notice saying it would be closed for the week of Thanksgiving, which Demuir said was not ideal.

“One of the constant narratives of the trans community is centered around loneliness around the holidays,” Demuir said. “Many of our trans siblings are disenfranchised from their family, and the holidays get really sentimental, and it adds a layer of depression.”

So, she began calling friends to see who would be willing to cook a Thanksgiving meal. A handful of individuals cooked Thanksgiving dinner before packing food, tables and chairs into their cars and heading to Santa Monica Boulevard and Highland Avenue.

At the time, she said, there were several members of the transgender community engaged in survival sex work or who were unhoused in the area. The group set up the tables and began walking around the block to invite individuals to sit down and eat. In all, around 30 individuals were fed.

“That night, as we packed our cars, we were filled with this greatness. It was during those moments when we realized it was something we could do annually,” Demuir said. “This was something we could contribute to our siblings each year and it could be this really good thing for the community.”

The next year, Demuir again hosted the event, but this time it had a name: TransGiving.

Since its inception, the annual dinner has been held throughout L.A., including venues in Long Beach, Hollywood and Koreatown, and the attendance has grown to more than 200.

TransGiving events are now held in locations across the U.S., including Sacramento, Mississippi, New York and Atlanta, something Demuir said she didn’t think would be possible when she was cooking her first meal.

“I was just busy hoping that my house didn’t burn down,” she said with a chuckle. “But it just warms my heart to see it grow, particularly when you start from humble beginnings. You realize that all the sacrifice that you’ve endured, all the trials and tribulations, that you get to see your community be celebrated.”

This year, the L.A. dinner will be hosted for the first time in West Hollywood, in the Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center. The West Hollywood City Council voted to co-sponsor the event, which UWC ambassador Nina Barkers said will help members of the trans community feel welcome.

“This is an excellent opportunity for the trans community to build fellowship and to build relationships in a place where they sometimes don’t get a chance to experience it,” Barkers said.

The meals are now catered by Redline Food & Bar, and though Demuir no longer cooks the meals herself, she said she still feels the familial spirit of the holiday each year.

“It’s like a family reunion,” she said. “It’s more than just a safe space, it’s a space where the trans community can be their authentic selves, be poured into, be lifted.”

The dinner will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Nov. 20, coinciding with the Trans Day of Remembrance. After dinner, guests can shake off their holiday food with dancing and a live DJ.

Space is limited at this year’s event due to COVID-19, though meal deliveries and pickups will be available for elderly and disabled community members.

Those interested in attending can reserve a space at theuwc.org or by calling (650)336-8471.