If board games, crocheting and conversations are more your thing than crowded pubs and expensive restaurants, then Cayman’s latest social event might be the thing for you.
Launched by IslandSoul, which organises events promoting health, creativity and wellness such as silent beach discos and meditation, the first Soul Social evening took place on Thursday 21 Aug. at Governors Village.
More than 50 people took part in the event, spending the evening playing games like Scrabble and Yahtzee, colouring in mandalas, listening to headphones playing life-affirming messages and chatting to newly made friends over food from The Village Café.
Alternative night out
Organiser and IslandSoul founder Kieri Dornan said that the idea behind the event was “to create a space where the community can come together in a way that feels real. We wanted to give people an alternative to the usual night out – a space where conversations flow, laughter is shared and true connections are made.”
Dornan plans to host the free event at Governors Village every Thursday and said the first event surpassed her expectations.
“The night was great,” she said. “We had over 50 people join us, and the energy in the room was amazing. Strangers were playing games together, chatting and even taking some quiet time in our crafting area.
“You could really see friendships forming and people relaxing into the experience. That’s everything IslandSoul is about – creating experiences that spark connection, joy and a sense of community.”
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This is a great initiative to foster more interaction between locals and residents. Our society and employment situation has evolved to a point where many locals do not interact with our foreign residents in any social setting.
Invariably, in many work environments, expats interact with other expats. That multicultural exchange is healthy, but Caymanians are often not included, by demographic. In some social settings, many Caymanians are often not involved, by choice.
We sometimes complain that expats cling to their own social groups (that’s simply nature) and don’t mix and mingle with Caymanians, yet we are often the ones who don’t mix and mingle with expats. A recent survey published in the media indicated that expats enjoy a better experience of life in Cayman than locals. That’s not because of wealth, as while many expats earn the highest salaries here, expats also earn the lowest wages. That’s because expats involve themselves in more social activities, across the board, than we tend to do.
Let’s face it, Cayman is and will remain a multicultural society. Instead of moaning and pointing fingers, more Caymanians should get involved with local organizations like this, local charities, cross-cultural activities, etc, to help make our society more inclusive, before we become even more isolated in our own islands.