Over the course of time, friendships start and friendships fade. People can become friends after knowing each other for a long time or right after meeting each other.

To help single seniors find friends in Kelowna, Dine and Chat was created in 2018 and on Saturday (Feb. 18) they celebrated their fifth anniversary.

Dine and Chat was created to help 60+ single seniors meet people and maintain friendships to avoid loneliness. Ever since it91裸聊视频檚 inception, the group has gotten together every Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m. at Deli City Cafe on Springfield Road. Since the beginning, throughout the pandemic, and still now, the participants of the group maintain friendships via phone calls, texting, and e-mails.

On Saturday afternoon, the group of more than 50 members got together to celebrate five years strong at, you guessed it, Deli City Cafe. They celebrated with food, coffee, wine, beer, and karaoke as they rented out the entire cafe for the afternoon. To help with the music and entertainment, they had singer Larry Branson, who is a Roy Orbison impersonator. Gary LeGresely, a retired musician also helped with the karaoke.

91裸聊视频檚 Dine and Chat, a group for 60+ seniors to get together, celebrated their fifth anniversary at Deli City Cafe on Saturday afternoon.

91裸聊视频� Jordy Cunningham (@CunninghamJordy)

Gloria-Jean Seymour started the group in 2018 after she lost her last remaining family member a few months earlier and felt a void in her life. To fill the void, she wrote and published a children91裸聊视频檚 book entitled 91裸聊视频楥elebrating Love in All Colours91裸聊视频�. She thought it would fill the void but she still felt like something was missing.

She wanted to connect with people again and to do that, she took a small advertisement with 91裸聊视频, saying she wanted to find other seniors in town to development friendships with. In the first meeting she set up, she was shocked when 13 other people showed up. Some of the members from the very first meeting were even at the fifth anniversary celebration on Saturday. Seymour has always been a social person but realized she was lonely and the first event is when the retired hair-dresser found her next calling.

91裸聊视频淭hen I realized, just maybe this was my calling,91裸聊视频� said Seymour. 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檝e never had any children, no grandchildren, and my love is for the community of Kelowna because I know there91裸聊视频檚 other people like myself. I91裸聊视频檝e been alone for 14 years and still alone, but not really, because now these people have become family.91裸聊视频�

While paying everything out of her own pocket to put these events together, Seymour got help from a friend who would come to the events, Steve Austin. One day, he told Seymour he was going to help her and gave her $1,000 and a printer to help with posters, name tags, advertisments, and more. She also bought a piggy bank and created rules for every Tuesday meeting. If someone broke the rules, they were to add a dollar to the piggy bank. The rules were as followed - no swearing, no mention of religion, no mention of politics, especially Donald Trump. She mentioned that even one member bought a coin with the former President91裸聊视频檚 face on it and would go around asking people to name who was on the coin. People would say this name, and have to owe a dollar.

Before the pandemic, when the group continued to grow, some of them even planned and went on a trip to Mexico.

After the first meeting in 2018 at the Old Spaghetti Factory, the group moved to Denny91裸聊视频檚 for their weekly meeting, and then Bar One and then Perkins, which has since closed down. Seymour said they were getting 45-75 people every Tuesday when at Perkins because they would rent out the back room. Now Deli City Cafe has been Dine and Chat91裸聊视频檚 home for the last three years where people from the group get together every Tuesday.

Seymour also joked that her group was meant to find Deli City Cafe because they have the same D.C. initials.

Over the years, the group has got together more than just every Tuesday as they sometimes have events like picnics and more. She pointed out one event in which they were having a party on the beach and it started to rain. To save the day, one of the members invited everyone to his house where the party continued.

During the pandemic, when they couldn91裸聊视频檛 get together, all the members would continue to communicate via phone calls, texting, and e-mails. During that time, Seymour would pass information out to everyone to update them on what91裸聊视频檚 going to happen with Dine and Chat and members of their community. When restaurants opened again, Dine and Chat returned to its normal weekly schedule instantly, and with masks on until the mandate was lifted.

91裸聊视频淲hen I come home after an event or at an event, I91裸聊视频檓 also getting kudos saying what a great job I91裸聊视频檓 doing for the community and how I91裸聊视频檓 getting people out of their cages, a couple people have even got married, a lot got together and that wasn91裸聊视频檛 my intention!91裸聊视频�

Over the five years, the 91裸聊视频榝riendship list91裸聊视频�, Gloria calls it, has 450 contacts and she91裸聊视频檚 still thinking of new ways to make the group grow and ways of getting the group together on top of Tuesday meetings.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 constantly thinking and trying to be creative as I can.91裸聊视频� said Seymour.

The group requires no membership fees.

READ MORE: Woman dead after hit by semi-trailer in Kelowna

READ MORE: Penticton Vees91裸聊视频� 6-goal outburst costs West Kelowna Warriors in 4th straight loss

jordy.cunningham@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on .