Did you know that you can support our work by hosting communal dinner in your area?
A supra is a traditional Georgian feast with an evening of toasts, and stories, led by a professional host called a tamada.
Commonwealth and American Supra help bring the Tamada. You gather the people and host the table.
What Is a Supra?
For generations the people of the Republic of Georgia have gathered at a table covered end to end with food and wine, and given the evening over to toasting. The table is led by a tamada, a toastmaster who guides the night through a series of toasts.
Each toast takes up a different part of life: gratitude, friendship, loss, children, sacrifice, love. After the tamada speaks, anyone at the table may rise and add their own words. No one is ever obligated to. Most guests find that they want to.
Toasts may move through gratitude, friendship, humor, memory, sacrifice, love, and the people gathered in the room. Guests speak. Stories emerge. The table begins to have a life of its own.
How It Works
Reach Out
Tell us where you are, when you hope to gather, and roughly how many guests you expect.
We Send the Tamada
American Supra works with Commonwealth to find the right Tamada for the table. Commonwealth covers the Tamada’s compensation and approved travel for a confirmed engagement.
You Provide Hospitality
You gather the people, prepare the food and place, and receive your guests. The Tamada guides the toasts.
The Evening
Plan for two hours or more. Two hours is a short Supra, and many tables continue much longer. A Supra has an order, but once it begins the table takes on a life of its own.
The Host Receives the Guests
People arrive, eat, drink, and settle in. Before the toasts begin, the Host may briefly welcome everyone and acknowledge Commonwealth and the reason for the gathering. The table itself is not turned into a fundraising presentation.
The Table Opens
Everyone sits to a table already full of food. The tamada opens with a toast to peace, then to those present and the feast begins.
The Table Finds Its Life
Food keeps coming. Toasts move through the people and themes of the evening. Guests speak, stories emerge, and the room starts to develop its own rhythm.
Stay as Long as You Like
Guests are free to leave when they need to. The Tamada remains with the table and continues to toast with whoever stays. Some Supras wind down after a couple of hours. Others continue much longer. The table finds its own ending.
We Bring the Tamada to You (Free!)
For a confirmed Commonwealth Supra, Commonwealth covers the Tamada’s compensation and approved travel. American Supra handles the match and coordination. You provide the local hospitality.
What We Do
We bring you a professional tamada. His fee, his flights, and his lodging are ours. This is the part that makes a supra possible, and it is our gift to your table.
American Supra matches and coordinates. We identify an appropriate Tamada and help prepare the engagement.
Invitations and materials. Something handsome to send your guests, and help explaining what the evening is for.
What You Do
Reserve a room. A parish hall, a backyard, a barn, your own dining room. Anywhere your guests can sit at one table together.
Prepare a dinner. Cooked by you and your friends, catered, or brought potluck. Georgian dishes are welcome but never required.
Invite and host your family, your parish, your neighbors and colleagues or anyone welcome at your table.
Our Partner
American Supra is a project of First Things Foundation.
First Things learned hospitality as guests abroad and now practices it as hosts at home. American Supra grows the table by forming Tamadas and helping more people gather in this way.
The aim is more real tables where guests are received with care, people give their attention to one another, and strangers have a chance to become neighbors.
We are guests abroad and hosts at home.
Why Your Supra Matters
The table also creates something beyond the immediate fundraiser. Friends meet one another. Donors encounter Commonwealth in person. New hosts discover the Supra. Some guests may eventually become tamadas themselves.
Commonwealth does not charge fees to the people we serve. We are using the supra as a way to help cover the costs of our operations so we can continue to advance our mission. The gifts your guests make keep the site running, the verifications happening, and new campaigns reaching the people who need them, so that every dollar given to a campaign can go where it was intended.
FAQ
Do I have to pay for the Tamada?
No. For confirmed Commonwealth Supras under this partnership, Commonwealth covers the Tamada’s compensation and approved travel. Local food, venue, and hospitality costs remain with the Host unless something different is arranged.
Is a Tamada guaranteed for any date or location?
No. American Supra will work with Commonwealth to find an appropriate Tamada, but assignments depend on availability, geography, timing, fit, and final confirmation.
Do I need to know how to lead a Supra?
No. Your Tamada guides the sequence of toasts. Your job is to gather the people, provide the local hospitality, and receive your guests.
What does the Host need to provide?
Start with the people, the place, and the table. Tell us where you are, when you hope to gather, and roughly how many guests you expect. We can work from there.
Can a Supra support a specific Commonwealth campaign?
This may be possible depending on the campaign.
Do I need to cook Georgian food?
No. Serve what your community cooks well, in abundance, and put it all on the table at once. We are happy to send Georgian recipes if you would like them.
Do I have to give a speech?
No speech is required. Before the Supra begins, the Host may offer a brief welcome, thank everyone for coming, and acknowledge Commonwealth and the reason for the gathering. After that, the Tamada carries the evening. Guests are invited to toast, never required, and nobody needs to prepare remarks in advance.
What if some of my guests do not drink?
They toast with whatever is in their glass. The supra is paced slowly, and plenty of guests spend the whole evening on water or juice.
Should I tell my guests it is a fundraiser?
Yes. Guests should know before they arrive that the Supra supports Commonwealth. At the beginning, the Host may briefly welcome the room and acknowledge Commonwealth and the reason for the gathering. Once the Supra begins, there is no formal fundraising presentation, closing ask, or required end-of-night speech.
Apply to Host a Supra
We would love to sponsor everyone who wants to host a supra for Commonwealth, but our resources are limited. Please tell us more about yourself and we will do our best to send a tamada to your location.