Big Bus To Host Chef’s Table Under The Lights Fundraiser
The Big Bus will bring its annual Chef’s Table Under the Lights fundraiser back to this month, inviting the community to gather for food and live music in support of mobile education programs for local families.
The event will feature a menu inspired by Louisiana Creole cuisine and prepared by Sean Barger, executive chef of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Barger designed the menu around familiar but distinctive dishes featuring bright colors, bold flavors, and local ingredients.
Meza Wine Shop and Tatjana Brown will return with wine pairings curated to complement the evening’s menu.
Guests will also hear live jazz from the Westerville Community Bands’ Jazzette Group.
“Partnering with the Westerville Community Bands just goes to show how much this community rallies together to support our kids and each other,” Big Bus Executive Director Kate Hunter wrote in an email announcing the event updates.
Dinner Under the Lights will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 25, at 393 East College Ave. at the American Legion Hall.
For Big Bus chair Tracy Davidson, the evening is more than a fundraiser. It is a way to keep the program’s classrooms on wheels moving.
“The Big Bus is a mobile tutoring program that brings learning directly to students and families in Westerville and the surrounding areas,” Davidson wrote in an invitation to supporters. “We’ve converted buses into classrooms because we believe that every child deserves access to education, no matter where they live.”
The program grew out of a 2022 conversation Davidson had with New American families at the Abbey Lane apartments. Parents told her they wanted more academic support for their children. One mother also said she wanted to learn English and improve her reading so she could better help her children with school.
That conversation helped spark the idea for a mobile classroom that could travel directly into neighborhoods, bringing tutoring, English-language classes and early-learning support to families rather than asking them to find transportation to those services.
The first Big Bus, a renovated school bus, was converted into a classroom and used for free, year-round educational support. The program started with after-school tutoring for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, then expanded to include kindergarten-readiness programs for preschoolers and English-language classes for parents.
The program later added a second vehicle through a partnership with the United Way of Central Ohio. The Central Ohio Transit Authority donated a retired 40-foot transit bus, now known as The Big Bus II, which was renovated into a learning lab with tables, electrical outlets, and Chromebooks.
Together, the buses support a multigenerational model. Children receive academic help, preschoolers build school-readiness skills, and parents can strengthen their English-language abilities through a program designed to reduce barriers to learning.
The idea also echoes Westerville’s education history. In the 1800s, rural children sometimes traveled to school by horse-drawn wagons or sleighs, later known as “kid wagons.” By 1924, Westerville schools were using a motorized bus to pick up students and take them to class. Today, Big Bus turns that transportation story around: Instead of carrying students to school, it brings school support to students.
Last year’s Chef’s Table Under the Lights brought guests together in Uptown for a multicourse meal prepared by Barger. The evening raised support for Big Bus’ K-12 student programs, as well as its preschool and parent programs.
This year’s event continues that effort with a Louisiana Creole-inspired menu, live jazz, and a setting designed to encourage conversation, community, and celebration.
“Every ticket purchased goes directly toward keeping our buses rolling and our classrooms thriving,” Davidson wrote. “It’s more than a dinner. It’s a chance to invest in the children and families of our community.”
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