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Playdate event in South Okanagan to help lonely adults find new friends

Speed dating but for friendship coming to Penticton
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Jenga is just one of the seven activities participants of the upcoming playdate at Craft Corner Kitchen can participate in. The event is geared towards helping adults make friends to combat loneliness. (Image from Pixabay)

Craft Corner Kitchen wants to help you lonely adults out there find friends with their playdate event on May 2.

Presented by Inspire Circus and Hive Counselling and Consultancy, playdate is styled after speed-dating and will feature seven activity stations for attendees to embrace their inner childlike wonder while they hunt for companions.

“While making friends is hard, it’s worth it. Loneliness affects our health in the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. In fact, loneliness increases our risk for early death by 26 per cent,” said organizers of the event in a news release. “Although many of us know–and feel–the effect of loneliness, we rarely do anything to address these feelings. A recent study finds we are lonely and getting progressively lonelier.”

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Activities will range from Twister, finger painting, choose your own adventure, to a dress up corner and blanket fort. Playdaters will have two 10-minute rounds at each station with someone new, and can decide at the end of the night if they’d like to exchange contact information with anyone.

“You’d be surprised how quickly fear dissipates when we acknowledge we are all fearful,” said Toronto-born Poe Liberado.

Liberado has a background in counselling to organize events across Canada which address anxiety, fear and judgment.

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The activities will be facilitated by Liberado and Penticton-born circus performer and sport coach Bryce Beckett. Beckett said that hosting this type of fun-filled event for people to meet one another allows everyone to embrace their silliness.

“Shared activities removes the pressure to always know the right thing to say,” said Beckett. “And play allows for a lightness that let’s us take ourselves less seriously.”

Earlybird tickets for playdate are $10 until April 19 and regular tickets are $15 after that. The event will run from 7 to 10 p.m. and stipulates that everyone is welcome. Tickets can be found online at inspirecircus.eventbrite.com.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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