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Cambridge resident hopes to unite the community through public events

Dance parties, euchre nights and Mario Kart tournaments are all ideas Cambridge's David Partridge is considering
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David Partridge has been a DJ for over 20 years.

After spending a year and a half teaching English in South Korea, Hespeler resident David Partridge knows how difficult meeting new people and navigating social interactions can be.

That’s why he’s looking to help people in the community build connections with others through public events.

“If you're a newcomer or looking to meet new people it can be hard,” Partridge said.

“People don’t usually walk into a restaurant or pub and start talking to a stranger. It takes a special kind of mood to do that.”

It’s that exact type of mood he’s trying to create through group meet ups, games and dance parties around the city. 

A graduate of the University of Waterloo who studied health sciences, kinesiology and psychology, Partridge has been a DJ on the side for over 20 years and recently created a Facebook group called "Cambridge Party" to help promote his ideas.

“I have experience throwing parties and bringing the community together,” he said.

“I’m trying to promote the benefits of dance parties, ice breaker activities and ways for people to communicate with each other. I’ve been a DJ for so long so it’s my natural instinct. I like seeing people dancing and having a good time, and when they are, they’re usually more approachable.”

Partridge is no stranger to helping out the community as he works for Indeed as a senior client success specialist assisting people in finding employment and also volunteers in the kitchen at The Bridges shelter every other Monday.

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, he too has felt isolated and knows the importance of social interaction on mental health.

Having lived in the Cambridge since he was three years old, Partridge has heard from others how there is often a lack of things to do in the city. 

He wants to change that.

“Everybody says the same thing,” he said.

“We have a reputation of being boring and a lot of people go to Guelph, Waterloo, Kitchener or Toronto.”

Partridge has already run one event at Kingpin bowling alley where he served as the DJ. Despite not publicizing it aside from a post on Reddit the day before, he says it was a success.

“I ran the event on a whim,” he said.

“Kingpin was one of the first businesses I contacted that was interested in the idea. We agreed not to promote it as we wanted to test how gathering a crowd and having a DJ would work. There were a few people who came up to me and said they saw it through the Reddit post. I think it can work.”

Whether he’s running a party, a euchre night or a Mario Kart tournament, Partridge’s goal is to unite the community and create a sense of connection among residents.

“I’m hoping to strengthen the fabric of the community and increase the amount of interactions between people,” he said.

“Cambridge is very diverse and there’s people from all over. I’m interested in recent immigrants and refugees that live here but don’t know how to connect. We take for granted how much we know. It’s nerve wracking to do something like this and put my name out there, but I think if I promote it I can get good turnouts.”