There’s a social club in Toronto that’s helping people form new friendships by stepping out of their comfort zone.
Launched in 2022, Invisible Strangers is an event series designed to be introvert and social anxiety friendly. It’s an event that is open to all and inspires new connections.
Founder Milan Seki said she was inspired by the lack of spaces for introverted people that were not in the forms of clubs or bars.
“Even in spaces like cafes or any other event that I’ve been to, there’s always some kind of mode of networking for business or people are already working in cafes. So, there wasn’t really a space that was very approachable for people that just wanted to create friendships specifically,” she told Now Toronto on Monday.
The event series was created to help people feel community following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2022, the founder has hosted more than 40 events from karaoke, park clean ups, beach picnics, cafes and studio spaces.
Currently, Seki says the events follow the same two-game format that is two hours long and aimed to eliminate small talk.
“The first game is called, ‘Who am I?’ So, you’re a person, place or thing, and you can ask anybody in the room yes or no questions to find out who you are, so that you don’t have to come up with a question or be put on the spot necessarily about your own identity,” she explained.
“And then our second game, we developed a card game, and all of the questions I designed so that they would ask questions about hobbies or routine, so that you get a real sense of how somebody goes around their day to day life really, so that you can really get a sense of similarities in how you operate,” she continued.
At her most recent event at Stackt Market, the organizer incorporated a friendship bracelet station as a way to alleviate the pressure and stress of a conversation. Seki says introverts can put their attention towards creating bracelets and control overstimulation.
Since initiating the series, Seki admits she has formed many meaningful and long-term friendships.
“Seeing the pictures that are posted and sometimes we get messages about ‘This is the best $25 I’ve ever spent.’ Or like, ‘I never thought I would be able to make friends,’ and because everybody is intended to be there to make those connections, it makes it more mutual where it’s not so one sided, where one person’s reaching out to somebody, they both want to be there to do that,” she said.
For those feeling nervous to attend an event, Seki says the hardest part is simply going but once you’re there, guests are taken care of and made to feel comfortable. She emphasizes that most people do arrive on their own and the events are catered for guests with lower energy.
“…We’ve seen many friendships leave our events. Most people go for food or drinks after like tea or coffee, and we’ve seen some long term friendships on social media. So, I guess my advice would be, just make sure you get there and the rest will be easy,” she advised.
The event’s next event takes place in Chinatown Centre on Feb. 9, however tickets are already sold out. The event is a collaboration with a group called Decorated Seafood, which specializes in purified, filtered food. There’s going to be an all you can chuck oyster van, do it yourself mocktails, along with its signature games plus a journals giveaway.
Though the event caters to introverts, Seki encourages all to join whether one is an extrovert or ambivert. Most attendees range from Gen Z to millennials.
For those interested in attending an event, ticket information can be found on their Instagram or TikTok.
