Adults over 30 often find themselves in a social rut. They’re finished with school. They’re too old for the club and bar scene. And they may not feel comfortable with online networking.
So, where exactly do these adults go to meet new people?
“I don’t know, but I can tell you, you don’t meet anybody just going to and from work,” said Susan Kapolowski, a Linden resident who works at Concentra in Secaucus, last week.
Kapolowski, 36, said she already knows everybody at work, isn’t looking to meet people at her health club, and just reads on the NJ Transit train she takes into town every day.
“The idea is to bring people together again.” – Lisa Lawrence
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After hearing their friends and peers repeating a similar mantra, business partners Ryan Hill, Lisa Lawrence, and Keenya Woodruff debuted PlayDate, a new social networking concept, at La Reggia in Secaucus on May 14.
The organizers say the idea originated in Atlanta about three years ago and was developed by entrepreneur Imari Havard.
“You know, at some point you realize you’re getting older and you’re wondering, ‘What do we do for social interaction?’ ” said Lisa Lawrence of Ryzenstar Promotions, one of the organizers of the Secaucus event. Havard, Lawrence said, “came up with this concept because even though you may be getting older, you still like to play. So, PlayDate is a game night offered at a time when a lot of people would usually be either at home on the computer or maybe watching TV. And it offers social interaction.”
Classic games
PlayDate events are essentially gatherings where people come together to play games – but not the ones typically found in bars. The organizers put an emphasis on games that most people enjoyed growing up. Pastimes such as Monopoly, Scrabble, checkers, dominoes, Twister, Uno, and dozens of others were available for people to play. At the May 14 event, people also played musical chairs and Wii Bowling.
Participants paid a $20 admission fee at the door, although $15 tickets were sold in advance.
Approximately 100 people showed up. They were able to enjoy dinner and cocktails in the restaurant before heading into the game room. It wasn’t necessarily a singles-only event; while many of those in attendance came with friends rather than romantic partners, several couples also came to meet new people. The card games appeared to be the most popular with the crowd, but the other games had at least some takers.
In 20 cities
The concept has become so popular that there are now PlayDates in more than 20 cities across the country that can attract hundreds of people on any given night, according to Keenya Woodruff, Lawrence’s business partner at Ryzenstar Promotions.
Even a cynic can understand why: The people at the Secaucus event played games with total strangers whom they had just met and – somewhat surprisingly – there was little text messaging and cell phone calling observed.
“There’s so much technology now that it’s in the way,” Lawrence commented. “You have people on the computer or text messaging now, and they’re not interacting. The idea [behind PlayDate] is to bring people together again.”
Kids at heart like it
If PlayDate’s Hudson County debut is any indication, the concept could become popular locally.
“So far, I’m having a good time,” said a 40-somethging Newark resident who didn’t want to give her name. “If I hadn’t come here tonight I probably just would have been home cleaning my kitchen.”
A similar sentiment was shared by other participants.
“I think it’s a good idea because there’s really nothing to do, especially for us ‘older’ people,” said Elise Nelson, who is in her 40s. Nelson, who attended PlayDate with several of her friends, said they usually go out to dinner and a movie. She said, “I like playing games, so this is something different.”
“I think this is a good concept because we can mingle, we can talk, we can meet new people,” said Nelson’s friend Gail Brown. “You can network. So the concept is great because you can do a lot of things aside from just playing games.”
Nelson’s group of friends at first ate dinner at the restaurant, and later played cards in the game room.
Woodruff said one of the reasons La Reggia was selected as the PlayDate venue was because the restaurant had enough space available for a dedicated game room – set up in one of La Reggia’s ballrooms – and a separate restaurant area where people could have dinner and drinks if they wanted.
“It’s a great location,” said Woodruff. “It’s just 10 minutes from the train station. The restaurant has parking. And since we hope to grow the event, as more people learn about it and show up, La Reggia has enough space to accommodate that growth.”
For now, the organizers plan to keep PlayDate at La Reggia. If the concept catches on and becomes popular, Lawrence said they might rotate PlayDate among several Hudson County venues.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.