The Beehive: Community Dinners

Welcome to The Beehive, a delightful community dinner series in White Rock and Surrey! Join us for a homemade meal served family-style at long tables, where you can connect with neighbours and make new friends. Our meals are offered at or below cost in a not-for-profit model, followed by light activities like music and games. We aim to create a vibrant space where everyone—including seniors, people who live alone, newcomers, families and youth—can enjoy an affordable night out and build connections.

The Beehive hosted three community dinners this spring. We’re grateful to everyone who joined us, volunteered, donated, and helped bring the idea to life. While the pilot is complete please subscribe below to stay in the loop about future gatherings. Have a question or want to get involved? Visit our Contact page — we’d love to hear from you.

Create an image of a family dinner with children, teens, adults and seniors from different

About Us

Thank you for checking out The Beehive. We’re excited you’re here — and we hope to meet you at one of our dinners this spring!

Hi! We are the Skelton-Duddy family —
Janice, Chad, Eric, and Toby.

A couple of years ago we travelled to Copenhagen and discovered something magical: community dinners at Absalon, where strangers gathered around long tables, shared delicious homemade Danish food, and had meaningful conversations. We were seated with a group of people in their 20s and found ourselves connecting over a delicious meal in a warm and welcoming environment. That night reminded us that meals have the power to connect people across generations, cultures, and experiences.

We returned to White Rock dreaming of bringing that feeling home.

We’re also grateful to be joined by our friend Soni, who is helping shape and support The Beehive as it grows. You can learn more about the people behind this initiative here.

Our Inspiration

Our Vision

We’re bringing this model — starting small — to our home community. The Beehive is a place where everyone in White Rock and Surrey is welcome — a warm, inclusive space where neighbours of all ages and backgrounds can come together to share a meal and a chat. While open to the whole community, we are especially excited to create opportunities for seniors to share their stories and connect, for newcomers to feel at home, for families to enjoy an affordable night out together, and for youth to have place to gather in real life.

At The Beehive, food is the starting point — building community is the goal. That vision begins with simple, shared tables, family-style meals offered at or below cost, laughter across generations, and conversations between people who may never have met. We’re inviting you to pull up a chair.

Why It Matters

Many people today feel increasingly disconnected — from neighbours, from community spaces, and sometimes even from one another. Informal gathering places are disappearing, and meaningful conversation can be hard to come by.

Shared meals are one of the simplest, most powerful ways to rebuild connection. Around a table, stories are shared, friendships begin, and community takes root — across generations and backgrounds.

Research shows that eating together strengthens social bonds and improves well-being — something we explore further on our blog.

Our Concept

Beehive Community Dinners are volunteer-run, family-style meals where individuals and small groups are intentionally seated together to spark conversation and build connection.

Meals are hearty and homemade, with both meat and vegetarian options, served at large round shared tables. Tickets are reserved in advance and priced at or below cost — supported by donations and community grants — in a simple not-for-profit model that keeps dinners accessible.

Each dinner continues with “The Hive After Hours” -- light, optional activities such as music, conversation, or board games that invite deeper connection.

Ou three pilot dinners in spring 2026, is complete. Visit this page to learn more.

Our Spring Pilot Is Complete

Thank you to everyone who helped make The Beehive’s spring pilot possible. Over three dinners, neighbours gathered around shared tables for homemade food, simple activities, and good conversation.

We’re now taking time to review what we learned, look at feedback, and think carefully about what comes next.

There are no tickets on sale right now, but we hope The Beehive will return in some form. Join our email list below to hear future updates.

a photo of youth, adults and seniors cooking together in a commercial kitchen, with highli

Join Our Community

Support The Beehive

The Beehive is built by community — and there are many ways to be part of it.

Pull up a chair
Join us at an upcoming dinner and invite a friend. Shared tables are where connection begins.

Volunteer your time
From helping set up and welcoming guests to cooking or hosting, volunteers help create the warm, inclusive atmosphere that makes each evening special.

Help keep tickets affordable
We intentionally price dinners at or below cost so they remain accessible. Donations and community support help subsidize seats, cover food and venue expenses, and ensure cost isn’t a barrier to belonging.

We operate in a not-for-profit spirit — every dollar goes directly into creating welcoming community dinners. While we’re not yet a registered charity and can’t issue tax receipts, your support helps build something lasting in White Rock and South Surrey.

Drop us a note to let us know how you would like to help.

Contact Us