The second annual Good Neighbor Day Dinner returned to White Lake last Thursday, Sept 26 at The Playhouse. Local business owners, city officials and community members gathered to discuss topics such as how they wish to continue growing as a community. The family-style dinner is aimed at encouraging conversations with local “neighbors” and tightening community ties.
Good Neighbor Day is a national initiative celebrated each Sept. 28. It was created in “a response to the growing concerns of loneliness and isolation.” It also encourages community members to be more caring and connected.
The local event was organized by White Lake Community Library, in partnership with The Playhouse, City of Whitehall, Debbie Does Dishes and Lebanon Lutheran Church.
“The conversations are great to listen to,” White Lake Library adult program coordinator Amy Morris-Jones said. “We put some conversation prompts on the tables themselves to kind of break the ice and get people talking, but honestly about five minutes in, everybody’s talking about all sorts of things. The fun part is we have people choose a table number, so they end up seated most likely with people they may not know. You get separated from the person you came with, which is a little intimidating at first, but the whole point is to meet neighbors, people who you might not interact with otherwise and build connections. By five minutes into the dinner, everybody is having conversations about the area or their interests, all sorts of things.”
White Lake Community Library has hosted this event through grant money and donations in the past, and is accepting donations for next year’s Good Neighbor Day Dinner.
