There’s a new buzz in the air about getting to know your neighbours, and it’s in the form of community dinners.
Beehive Community Dinners, as they’ve been aptly dubbed, is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit pilot project that launched in March, sparked by one White Rock family’s experience nearly three years ago while more than 7,600 kilometres from home.
Janice Duddy said she, her husband and their two kids were vacationing in Denmark in the summer of 2023 when they happened across Folkehuset Absalon; a renovated stone-church-turned-community-space in Copenhagen, which they quickly learned hosted dozens of activities every week as well as community dinners serving some 200 guests every night.
Happy to have discovered somewhere more affordable to eat, the family soon found themselves in “a really special place,” seated at a table with five 20-something friends who shared how they had just finished their graduate studies and were soon going off to do international development work.
In a blog post, Duddy describes the hall as “alive with a hum of conversation and energy.”
“It was just really cool to sit and chat … for an evening and meet a bunch of new people and be in a really interesting and cool space,” she said Monday (April 6).
“That was kind of our inspiration,” she continued. “It was such a great experience that we thought, oh maybe we can kind of replicate it in a smaller, simpler format in our community.”
And so it came to be that Duddy, her 15-year-old son Toby and her good friend Soni Thindal became co-leads of The Beehive – a name that lends itself to all kinds of metaphors befitting the endeavour – and after several months of work to secure a venue and work out logistics, the first Beehive Community Dinner was held March 14 at Mount Olive Lutheran Church (2350 148 St.) in South Surrey.
All 40 seats available for the inaugural evening were filled, and with the help of 18 volunteers, a family-style, made-from-scratch meal and conversation were shared. There was also an opportunity to create a simple craft, and a highlight of the evening was a spontaneous sing-along inspired by the presence of a piano in the church hall.
Donations and small grants – including from the City of White Rock – enabled the organizers to keep the ticket price to $10 per person; around half of the meal’s true cost.
Duddy said the pilot project is a three-meal initiative – tickets to the second dinner, taking place from 5-9 p.m. on April 18, are on sale now and anticipated to sell out quickly; the final dinner is planned for May 9 – after which survey responses and other data gathered over its course will guide next steps.
“We wanted to start small,” she explained.
So far, the feedback has been “incredibly encouraging.” According to a blog post reflecting on the first dinner, 97 per cent of attendees agreed they felt welcomed; more than 75 per cent talked to four or more new people; and 85 per cent said they would attend another Beehive dinner.
Research shows strong links between social connections and health, Duddy noted.
Further evaluation will help glean “what’s working, what’s not working and what we should change,” as well as if there is enough support and interest in continuing, she said.
“We’re kind of dipping our toe in the water to see if this idea will float or not.”
Duddy emphasized that the dinners, while held in a church, are not a religious initiative. People of all ages, beliefs, backgrounds and identities are welcome, whether attending with friends and family, or by themselves.
Sixty tickets are being sold for the April 18 dinner. Sales will close April 16, to allow volunteers time to purchase ingredients and begin prepping the meal.
For more information or to reserve seats, visit thebeehiveinbc.wixsite.com