CHIFOO invites you to join us at the White Owl Social Club for a casual meet and greet to kick off our exploration of Serendipity in our 2023 lecture series. Sure, we could start the year in the same ole, same ole way and host a lecture right out of the gates. But what if we switched it up a bit for the sake of a richer experience?

Remember the free wheeling days of 2019? Remember when the world held a tad less horror and we were all a bit less anxious? Remember the delight of randomly meeting a new person and having a completely unplanned conversation that scratched a cognitive itch you didn’t know you had? We aim to bring back some of that in-person ad hoc magic in 2023. However, we’re going to need your help to do so.

As such, our ask is this: please bring a friend.
This need not be someone who is familiar with CHIFOO, working in UX, or even part of the tech industry. Bring your wild cards! In so doing, we endeavor to set the stage for serendipitous connections.

What if I don’t know anyone?

That’s okay! We’re a friendly bunch of UX professionals. Meeting new people and having substantive conversations is a large part of what we do on a daily basis in support of product development. You’ll be in good company. In addition, we will be offering a variety of conversation prompts to help get us chatting about our 2023 theme.

What if I forgot how to socialize and/or be cool and/or go with the flow and/or make conversation with strangers?

That’s ok. Many of us are still feeling a bit uncertain as the Portland social scene continues to come alive again. To make introductions and conversation a bit easier, we are offering a color-coded wristband system that will help signal your interests.

Are there any fees or restrictions associated with this event?
While there are no fees associated with attending this event, the venue requires everyone to be 21+. If you are under 21, fear not, we will have all ages socials later in the year in addition to our regular Zoom-based lectures.