Even after all my years of hosting gatherings, the powerful winds and driving rain of a nor'easter peaking right at the start of my brand new event had me wondering whether anyone would show up at all.
We had 30 RSVPs. For a first-time, free, evening event in a town where I'm still a virtual unknown, I was already expecting some attrition—but a nor'easter?
I have a thick skin. If no one showed, all good, we'll promote the next one even better.
Then two people blew in. Then two more.
Before I knew it, we had a solid 19 people excitedly talking and getting to know each other. I personally thanked each one for braving the elements to come out. I think the experience of moving through the weather outside gave everyone a boost of energy coming into the space—for an event where, by definition, nobody knew each other, people were ready to get social.
The premise is dead simple: are you new to to town? Or, at least, do you feel new to town? Meet some of your neighbors and learn what's what at this free event, which happens to be hosted by the coolest cafe-slash-artisanal-shop-slash-gathering-space in town.
Promoting the event when I don't know anyone
I'm still rather new to this town myself. My wife and I moved to Norwalk in May of last year, having no relationships with anyone in the city whatsoever.
Fortunately, I was prepared for this. I followed every social account I could find, subscribed to every local newsletter, and checked out every cafe.
When I walked into Eco Evolution and met Brad the owner, I knew I had found my personal home base (see my podcast interview with Brad here).
I leaned on him hard. His newsletter was popular and active, and his team was on their social media A-game. He also put up a flyer I designed in his space, so everyone who came in for a coffee in the weeks leading up to the event knew it was happening. Most of the participants found out about the event through him.
Of course, I wanted to cast a wider net—so I posted flyers in the library and on lampposts downtown. While the outdoor ones didn't last past the massive rain storm that came through just a few days later, I know some folks saw them.
Online, I did the following:
- Created a copy of the event on NextDoor (got at least two attendees)
- Posted in response to a related thread in the /r/Norwalk Subreddit (got at least one attendee)
- Posted on an active local Facebook group (got a few attendees)
- DM'ed local events accounts on Instagram (got some positive replies)
- Coordinated with the city's business development department, who posted the event on their Visit Norwalk web site
What I did NOT do that I'll do next time:
- Reach out to every local business I can get my hands on to sponsor or cross-promote the event
Event prep
To facilitate the event, I produced the following:
- A run of show Google Doc for my own planning (I mostly stuck to this, but adapted the plan as the event played out).
- A "People's Guide to Norwalk" Google Doc with my list of everything I've found so far, with links to everything. I made it openly editable, so anyone could contribute to it.
- A flyer letting people know about the doc, with a QR code pointing them to it. I used Canva, which includes a free QR code generator inside its interface as an add-on app.
- A flyer asking people to fill out a name tag and get settled, which I taped to the door and put up on a stand at the entrance to the space.
- A set of custom name tags I designed and printed with my home label maker (totally not necessary, I could have just used regular name tags, but I thought it was a fun touch). (Nick Gray, I hope you are proud!)
For supplies, I brought the following:
- Tape, scissors, markers, paper (my go-to kit for everything)
- The printed flyers & name tags
- A flyer display stand
- Business cards
- My State of Belonging report and some other materials from my Belongfulness Project work in case people wanted to see them
In addition to all this, Eco Evolution stayed open late, so people who came in could buy beverages and snacks (and, in a few cases, artisanal goods).
Hosting inside a cafe sure helped lighten my logistical load, as I didn't have to think about purchasing and setting up food & beverage and dealing with trash afterwards (thanks again for hosting, Eco! 🤝).
Want to host one in your city?
I'll put together a package for you to easily replicate this process. Reach out if you're interested!
