Live Facebook Event – mini HS reunion
Posted by JasonWritten by Renee Hoyt for The Talent Buzz blog post contest.
It started as a couple of old friends talking about getting together. Some of the people in our High School theater group do it almost every year, either at a friend’s house or in NYC.
Somehow this wasn’t going to be the usual 5-20 people these gatherings had previously been. This year was the first year we were all on Facebook. Before Facebook, it started much smaller, but this escalated into close to 100 people from two High Schools in an old favorite bar in the town of East Meadow, NY on a cold Saturday night in January.
The funny part about it is that the people who attended this event were not all from the same theater group as mine. It began that way, but then we decided it might be a good idea to create a Facebook event to help spread the word, and we decided to make it public, so friends of friends could attend as well.
Our Live Facebook Event evolved when we got someone from the Homecoming Committee, who was not as good a friend of mine in High School, involved in the planning. As it turns out, it was her 42nd birthday the day after we had planned the party; so she took it as a personal mission to make this a very exciting event. She took the opportunity to invite more friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on. It seemed that since you were being invited by a friend instead of a Reunion Planning Committee, it felt like a more personal invitation. Because of Facebook, the old social circles of High School became meaningless and the Social Networking allowed us to befriend people whose only other ties besides Facebook was our old hometown. This new “Facebook best friend” of mine created the Facebook milieu of the event by bringing a large inflatable finger to Poke friends with, an 8 ball in a tube sock to Kid’nap people with, and a tray of cupcakes to give as a gift to her Friends, and other items.
Her most creative and Facebook oriented idea to have us wear white t-shirts which we could write on with Sharpies, wearing our own ‘Facebook Wall’ wherever we went that night. Many people in the very crowded bar commented that this party was even better than our High School reunions of a few years past and some people brought siblings with them who attended the same High School in different years. We had attendees from two High Schools within at least a six year range. I even won the “Facebook Social Butterfly” award! (Though I think it should be shared with the other two responsible for creating the idea of the Facebook event and helping to spread the word).
Our new Facebook Group “EM reunion” is up to over 250 members, and was started just a little over a month ago. Some of us are better friends now after the planning and this event than we were in High School 20+ years ago. People from at least three other states besides NY came in for this event, the furthest of whom came from Florida, specifically to rekindle the old friendships! She and I have known each other since Kindergarten and I’ll get to see her again this weekend as I go to visit my parents in South Florida. We started making those plans on Facebook too.
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March 1st, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Very nice story. I am not from EM but a friend of mine is and shared the story. It is wonderful when time changes people for the better and able to rekindle friendships or even form new ones through having a reunion along with an open mind.
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March 1st, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Great blog Renee, This facebook is pretty amazin! I wish I was able to go to that mini-reunion, I hope you guys are already planning another one!
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March 1st, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Renee’ great piece. Really well written. I had a blast. Looking forward to the next one. Tell Mike I said Hi.
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March 2nd, 2009 at 3:02 am
Nice job Renee- and you definitely get major thanks for helping to organize it. It was wonderful seeing everyone. Now, you Shari, and Cyndi have to plan one for the summer!
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March 2nd, 2009 at 6:18 am
Renee, what a great blog!! So many connections have been made , I hope the friendships will continue for many years to come! It was well worth the trip from Florida to “rekindle” these friendships… and it was wonderful seeing you this past weekend. Looking forward to the next one!!
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March 2nd, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Great job Renee. It was great seeing you in Florida!!! Corina
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March 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I think the mini facebook reunion was as large as the 20 year reunion! Wish I could have stayed longer that evening but for the short time I was there it was great to see all those smiling faces. Great Blog Renee and great job reconnecting everyone Great Job to Cindy too!
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March 2nd, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Nice blog, Renee! Well done! Wish my high school class had more enthusiasm to put together an event like this!
Talk soon!
Annie
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March 2nd, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Renee this is a fantastic blog. You really captured the essence of that night. I couldn’t help but smile when reading this. A great memory was made. Looking forward to planning the next one.
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March 2nd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Super job–both the blog and the live facebook event. I hadn’t had that much fun in a VERY long time. I was wonderful to reconnect and connect. Can’t wait for the next one–I say a hot summer day at the beach this time!
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March 3rd, 2009 at 7:42 am
Thank you so much for the feedback. I’m happy it’s being enjoyed by people outside the original group who attended.
That will only help as we begin planning the next one. I love Donna’s suggestion for a beach party - anyone know someone who lives near one?
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March 4th, 2009 at 3:13 am
Really wish I could have made this one but I’ll definitely be there for the next!
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March 4th, 2009 at 6:09 am
I live near the nautical mile in Freeport, if that helps with the planning…maybe one of our great waterfront restaurants on a live music night?
At any rate, I’m so glad to be back in touch with everyone! Thanks for getting this moving!
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March 5th, 2009 at 1:34 am
renee
well done! you are a social facebook butterfly! it takes a happy person to pull this off.
Mex
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March 5th, 2009 at 2:36 am
Very nice. Speaks volumes to the growing power of social media sites like Facebook. I know of other groups of friends who had get-togethers after finding each other on Facebook.
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March 5th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Nice job Renee! This reunion was the first of two I went to within a week, both of which could only have happened because of Facebook. They both were fun and interesting in many ways. The best part was seeing people I hadn’t seen since High School when we were still just kids and now we are all “grown up”. Kudos to you, Shari and Cindy for organizing it all.
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March 5th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
GOOD JOB RENEE ! ALL THE NOTES AND PICTURES ARE GREAT .. SORRY I HAD TO MISS IT.. I WONT NEXT TIME.
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March 5th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I wasn’t able to make it, but enjoyed the pictures and blog. Funny story, my friends go to Potters a lot and finally decided to take their kids there for dinner…on the night you had the party. Not what they expected! When she started telling me the story, I said I knew the party people! Hope I can make the next one!
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March 7th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Very well done, Renee.
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March 9th, 2009 at 5:49 am
I’m uberclempt! What a great job you did with this piece. I’d say you definitely earned those social butterfly wings but next time I’m bringing golden ones that have been sprinkled with magic fairy dust. So happy for you and I’m certain that 2009 is gonna be your best year ever. Can’t wait to do this again and I’m really grooving on the summer shore thing…I’m gonna run out and buy the leis tomorrow!
P.S. love my marker nipple in the photo above.
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March 9th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Great Story
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