To celebrate the midway point of 2023, the Alberta Avenue Community Centre will be hosting women in Central Edmonton for the Femmes and Friends New Years Eve 2.0 event.

The event, which runs from 6pm to 9pm, will be a gathering of women looking to have conversations and build relationships in their community, says organizer Amanda Nielson.

“One goal I have for the event is that everyone leaves with at least two phone numbers of new neighbors that they can stay in touch with after the event,” she said.

The idea for the event came out of a clothing swap Nielson helped organize earlier in the year, where over 150 community members came out to take part.

“We really just discovered the power of working together,” said Nielson.

“There were a lot of people here who were kind of hanging around looking to have conversations and build relationships, and so we thought that we would try to create a space to allow people to do so.”

The event will have free childcare on site, along with charcuterie, beverages and a live band, to keep with the celebratory atmosphere. Amanda Wagner, an Edmonton strategist and speaker will be giving a keynote address aimed at motivating women through the next half of the year.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in a collaborative art piece, with people creating self-portraits that will be combined into one large portrait.

“It’s just meant to be like a nice community space,” said Nielson.

“I know that Alberta Avenue, they’ve had neighborhood pub nights. Those are fantastic, I’ve been to a few of those – but they’re often later in the evening, which can be tough to attend at times,” she added.

“We want to have something goes a bit earlier, and also just women-only, because women really are the community builders, I feel like often.” While there is a $15 commitment fee to attend through Eventbrite, $10 will be given back to attendees at the door. If cost is a barrier, attendees are asked to email even sponsor Norwood Dental Centre at hello@norwood-dental.ca.