Brownsville Yacht Club’s community meals provide diverse cuisines

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Over 100 friends, neighbors, and total strangers gathered at the Brownsville Yacht Club June 28 for “A Taste of India.” During the summer and fall months, the club hosts a community potluck or themed dinner every other Sunday. The meals are always free and open to the public.

At this meal, the crowd filled the clubhouse to capacity and gathered at the picnic tables on the wooden patio deck. They were all there to watch, smell, and sample an authentic Indian meal prepared by members of the Singh family who own the nearby Brownsville Mart, also known as the Daily Stop.

Food preparation and cooking began at noon and some people came early to watch and help. Others came later. Folks talked. They laughed. They caught up with events in their neighbors’ lives and made new friends.

At 4 p.m., the Singh family served dinner that included traditional Indian dishes such as spicy butter chicken, spinach and cheese, and vermicelli and milk, all washed down with gallons of hot, sweet chai.

By 5 p.m., the food was almost all gone. Dessert was a surprise birthday cake for the Singhs’ daughter. The crowd spontaneously burst into the Happy Birthday song and she thanked them for coming to share a meal with her family.

People applauded the Singh family again for the meal. They clapped even harder after Sqbal Singh explained that his family is Sikh, and that members of the Sikh religion in India feed millions of people every day, free of charge.

“We prepare food together, we sit down together, we eat together. Rich, poor, it doesn’t matter. We are one people. It is all about community,” he said.

The crowd cheered again when Yacht Club Commodore Paul Rulifson presented a check to Bremerton Foodline representative Morgan Huffman. “The Singhs declined the Yacht Club’s offer to help pay for the cost of food,” said Rulifson. “So it only seemed right and proper that we should donate that money to the Bremerton Foodline in (their) name to help feed even more people.”

The “Taste of India” dinner was just the latest community-building meal put on by the Brownsville Yacht Club.

“Before the pandemic, the Port of Brownsville was the heart of the community,” explained Commodore-elect Kevin Combs. “With the help of great folks like the Singhs, we’re working to bring back that community spirit one meal at a time.”

The Brownsville Yacht Club’s next Sunday Community Dinner will be “Carolyn & Steve’s Hawaiian Luau,” at 4 p.m. July 12. If you come, they ask that you bring a side dish or dessert and wear your loudest Hawaiian shirt.

Plans for future community dinners this summer include a chili cookoff, a dockside meal and a tour of the Lotus, a classic, 100-foot-long yacht that is docked at the Port of Brownsville Marina.

Terryl Asla is a former Kitsap News Group reporter.