Published March 8, 2024

Tempo Publications

Patricia Lavoie, LJI Reporter

ArtLab 341. February 1st, 5 p.m. More than one hundred and thirty people were drawn to a casual bilingual meet and greet hosted by a township newcomer.
Jennifer Peters was looking for friendship and connection here and she discovered a community. After she posted an invitation to ‘Nice to meet you – Enchanté’ on Knowlton.com, one hundred and two people RSVP’d. Several more just showed up. A tremendous response. Not just newcomers but longer term residents as well, looking for new social connections. The food and drink ‘potlucked’ by the attendees was so overwhelming the buffet table had to be doubled in size. More than twenty local businesses donated door prizes! Several people mentioned to her that “this is what we need.” The event obviously struck a chord.
Ms. Peters grew up in Yorkton Saskatchewan and worked in Alberta and B.C. before settling in Montreal. Travelling is in her DNA. Her various itineraries have included China, India, Mexico, the U.K., Morocco, Portugal, Germany and Spain to name a few. She has been an event planner, winery manager and owner of a furniture store where she lived out her creative design passions. She is also writing a series of children’s books.
When planning ‘Nice to Meet You – Enchanté’ her objective was to encourage people to step away from their screens, to leave their isolated bubbles and get to know their neighbours. No particular demographic was targeted. And every age group showed up.
In order to promote conversation and allow attendees to find people of similar interests, each person was asked to choose a lapel tag, as an icebreaker. Ten different icons e.g. leaves (nature, ecology), books, animals, musical notes, sports etc. replaced names. In fact a few sub-groups revolving around these various pursuits and pastimes may evolve from this first event.
It has been well-documented that in-person socializing has been in decline for several years. Video-conferencing reigns supreme from business meetings to book clubs. The challenging confinement of the COVID pandemic was a great contributor to remote digital socializing. And the trend has persisted. Is it time for a change? Ms. Peters is a strong proponent of same.
Ms. Peters saw an opportunity to bring new connections to members of our community. ‘Nice to Meet You – Enchanté’ may be the spark that inspires interest in other communities as well.
Friendship. Opportunity. Community. Connection. By any measure the event was a great success.
For more information: thejenniferpeters.com

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