MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — In a city full of people, this is where strangers actually meet.

Turns out, swiping left is out. Showing up is in again.

“Everybody’s in the same boat. Everybody’s meeting new people,” said Jessica Bakeman, founder of “We Met in Miami” and “We Met in Broward.”

“I was overwhelmed by how much demand there was,” she said.

Across South Florida, a growing nonprofit called “We Met” is organizing events designed to help people make friends, find romance and build real-life connections.

Bakeman launched “We Met in Miami” in February 2024 and has since expanded into Broward County, hosting nearly 100 meetups that have drawn thousands of attendees.

“The idea is … wouldn’t it be cool to meet someone at game night? Wouldn’t it be cool to meet someone on a hike in the Everglades?” asked Bakeman. “And look around and already know who’s single, who’s open to making new connections to make it a little bit easier to make those conversations happen.”

The organization hosts a wide range of outings across Miami-Dade and Broward counties — from dance classes and museum visits to sporting events and game nights — all intentionally structured to push strangers out of their comfort zones and into conversation.

To see how it works firsthand, Local 10 morning anchor Andrew Perez attended a “We Met at Game Night” gathering at Tripping Animals Taproom in Oakland Park.

When guests arrive, they choose colored wristbands signaling what kind of connection they are open to making: friendship, romance or LGBTQ connections. Some wear one, others stack all three.

The night begins with an icebreaker challenge, followed by randomized seating assignments listed on each attendee’s name tag. Participants head to their designated tables, meet a fresh group of strangers and choose from a towering collection of board and party games.

After about 30 minutes, everyone rotates to a second assigned table — another built-in chance to start over with new faces.

By the final round, games give way to a facilitated conversation designed to spark more meaningful interaction before attendees fill out a “match card,” indicating who they’d like to connect with again.

“A lot of people say the reason they come is because they want to be a part of a community,” said Bakeman. “They want to be part of something bigger ... also just looking for fun things to do and a way to explore the city.”

“You can really sense that people wanna connect,” said We Met volunteer, Viviane Valcezan. “They wanna meet people in person, they want to have that face-to-face experience and they’re hungry for friendship, for connection and for a way to just have fun.”

To submit an idea for What Connects Us, email whatconnectsus@wplg.com.

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