On 24 September, and throughout the weekend that followed, South Africans across the United States came together to celebrate Heritage Day and National Braai Day in the most South African way possible — around the fire.

From the San Francisco Bay Area to Tampa, Florida, from Nashville to New York and communities in between, South Africans gathered with family, friends and fellow expats to celebrate their shared heritage. Social media reflected the familiar scenes: fires burning, boerewors on the grid, Springbok jerseys, South African flags and people simply enjoying the opportunity to reconnect with home and with one another.

Heritage Day celebrates the extraordinary diversity of South Africa’s cultures and traditions. The braai has become one of the traditions that crosses many of those boundaries — bringing people together around a shared table and a shared fire. South Africa’s 2026 Heritage Day initiatives similarly emphasised connection, storytelling and community around food and shared tables.

For South Africans living thousands of miles from home, that sense of connection can be particularly meaningful. A braai in California, Tennessee, New York or Florida may look slightly different from one in Johannesburg, Durban or Cape Town, but the conversations around the fire, the smell of the coals and the sense of community remain unmistakably South African.

A New South African Export Joins the Braai

This year’s celebrations also provided an opportunity for more South Africans in America to discover another proudly South African product — the Donkey Long Tong.
Handmade in South Africa, the 80cm Donkey Long Tong is designed for managing fire, wood and hot coals while allowing the braaier to keep a comfortable distance from the heat. It is manufactured using food-grade stainless steel, white-oak handles and solid brass rivets, and even incorporates a bottle opener — because, after all, somebody clearly understood the requirements of a proper braai.

Its companion, the 69cm Donkey Tong, is designed specifically for handling food, with a broad head intended to grip and turn meat without tearing it. Together, the two tools provide one tong for managing the fire and another for managing what goes onto it.

Perhaps most importantly for South Africans living abroad, Donkey Long Tong represents another innovative South African product making its way into the international marketplace. The brand now has a dedicated U.S. presence, providing an opportunity for the humble South African braai tong to become part of America’s enormous outdoor cooking and barbecue culture.

For SACCUSA, this is exactly the type of story we enjoy seeing: South African heritage creating community, while South African ingenuity creates export opportunities.

National Braai Day reminds us that wherever South Africans may find themselves in the world, sometimes all it takes is a fire, good food and good company to make somewhere thousands of miles away feel a little more like home.