A little rain didn’t put a damper on Temple Tikvah’s midsummer progressive dinner on Saturday night. With more than 30 participants, the night was filled with good company and delicious food to raise money for the Temple.

In past years, the event took place in October; however this time around organizers agreed that summer is good opportunity for people to “catch up” even if it meant a few less people.

Even though this wasn't the first progressive dinner for many members, a few newcomers like Craig Tyson already said to “count them in for next time.”

“It’s a chance to socialize with members away from the Temple,” said Tyson. “These are people who I normally wouldn’t get the chance to speak to during a Saturday service.”

The element of surprise played into the night. People are not told where they will begin the evening until the night before and it is not until after the cocktail hour that the guests receive an envelope with directions to their next destination for the main course. To maximize the amount of socializing, organizers make sure not to send everyone who is in one cocktail house to the same dinner house. To make it a “progressive” dinner, after each course you move on to a different house with different people. Debbie Hochrad, who hosted the cocktail portion of the night, compared the experience to the Amazing Race but with eating.

“It’s a way to solidify the congregation,” Hochrad said. “It gives people who didn’t know each other a chance to meet in a social setting.”

You can learn a lot about people who you normally would not get the chance to mingle with by having dinner outside the Temple.

“When you go to someone else’s house you see those people in a different light and you can discuss things that you normally wouldn’t talk about at Temple,” Hochrad explained.  

One thing that the hosts share in common is they like to entertain. Andrea Comerchero, who is in charge of fundraising for Temple Tikvah, also hosted dinner with her husband, Marc.

“We all know each other because of Temple Tikvah but we can learn about each other’s interests and things we don’t have time to discuss during services,” Comerchero said.

With a few hors d’oeuvres, dinner, dessert and laughs, she said it's a fun way to raise money and meet people at the same time.

“While this fundraiser has to do with helping the Temple it gives us an opportunity to connect informally outside of the temple without the religious component.”