A suburban social gathering

We had a cul de sac party for all of the neighbors a few years ago.  A lot of us had kids in the same age range.  It was a fun pot luck and lots of people came.  This year, they had another one, but I was back East visiting old college friends, so I missed it.  I talked to some of the people who organized it, and we had an idea.  Why not have an available hang out in the neighborhood every couple of weeks? We don't want to make it feel like an obligation, just a possibility.  We had the first one a week and a half ago.  I was amazed at how many people showed up. There were about 20 of us.  We just met in someone's front yard. We brought our lawn chairs and preferred beverages.  It was fun.  The next one is going to be in my driveway, because I'm a permie and I don't have any lawn.  We have 3 people who started it.  We are sharing chores of printing the first notices, handing them out, compiling the email list,etc.  It's kind of like a permaculture bar.  You don't have to drive out somewhere and hope there will be someone you can talk to.  You know who everyone is, or you can say, oh, where do you live? It's lower impact and more community oriented than a regular bar.   I am looking forward to the next one.

John S
PDX OR

We had the second one and it was even more fun. You know those neighbors who have some interesting stories to tell, but you don't want to be too intrusive and ask them? They have been feeling very open and relaxed about sharing stories. Some people, who I've never met before, are excited about hosting at their house! I think many people are starving for connection, and a sense of community.  Some people, one on one,  don't want to be too friendly because they are very circumspect and careful about how everything looks.  Others won't be too friendly because you're the opposite gender and they worry that someone will think that someone is hitting on someone.  They all were friendly in this group setting.   I can't wait until the next one.

John S
PDX OR