PIQUA — Neighbors came together for a non-traditional dinner party in Miami County on Saturday.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, the first Longest Table was held in Downtown Piqua.
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People lined High Street focused on community engagement in Piqua.
The Longest Table happens in cities across the country.
“I’ve seen concepts like this, and I’m just so excited to be able to think about imagining this for Piqua and how we would make it feel authentic to our community,” said Michelle Perry, Piqua spokesperson.
The idea came from a local mom who wanted to find community and figured others might want to do it too.
That’s exactly what Joely Staley did.
“I did not know anyone in the community outside of my husband,” she said. “So, what better way than to just break bread and having you know have an opportunity to get to know your neighbors.”
People of all ages and backgrounds attended. This included educators and business owners.
“I was born and raised here, so I like, you know, keeping things local, bringing more people and more businesses here to pick,” said Angie Jones, bookstore owner.
News Center 7’s Kylie Bridgeman says that Ave and Angie are a mother-daughter business duo. They said having a stake in the city has motivated them to be more involved.
“I always see events, and I don’t always show up. But since we started the bookstore, we’ve been showing up a lot more, and it’s been fun,” said Ava.
Joely first saw an event like this trending on social media. She never imagined just how beautiful it would be here in her new hometown.
“I just think about the word connection, and what better way than to just reconnect and just find myself again,” said Staley.
Bridgeman says this is the first kind of event in Piqua. The city wants to have more events like this to bring more people together.
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