In July, Lisa DeCanio from BostonInno asked the question in her column Why is Making Friends in Boston so Hard? A few weeks later I found myself in Cambridge sitting across from Daniel Heller and Ashley Lucas from The Welcoming Committee (TWC).
Not familiar with TWC? Its affiliated with Guerrilla Queer Bar (GQB), a group that achieved notoriety for taking over bars the first Friday of each month not typically considered gay or gay-friendly. GQB nights in Boston routinely brings 500+ 20 and 30-somethings. Later this week GQB will be hosting their next take over. Interested? Check out TWC FB page for more information. The success of that group has now expanded to include The Welcoming Committee (TWC).
Recognizing it can be hard to connect with people and gay and lesbian men and women may feel uncomfortable venturing out on their own to certain venues, TWC started planning social events that take a page out of the Guerrilla Queer Bar playbook; planning social events away from the bars and in locations not typically considered “gay”.
This group has hopes their “take over” model will go viral. To encourage the Boston LGBT community to connect and explore other places in the city, they have launched what I believe is the first mobile app of its kind. NOTE: At the time this post was published the App was not available. It is awaiting approval by Apple and is expected very soon.
Curious to learn more about TWC? Visit them online at, http://thewelcomingcommittee.com.
BosGuy 
I think I like the “takeover” message! Tired of feeling like a minority in some of these bars!
SteveA
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