A Dinner Event For Adult Social Club, No Kidding!

DANBURY — Married and single people without children now have a club of their own. A new chapter of an international social group called No Kidding! has started for residents of the greater Danbury area.

Claudia and Peter Nielsen of Newtown have started the new all-volunteer, non-profit social chapter, joining the 51 additional chapters registered across the United States, Canada and Africa as of October 25, 2000.

Anyone interested is invited to attend “A Night in Portugal,” a dinner event at O’Faia Restaurant at 58 Main Street, on Sunday, November 12, beginning at 6:30 pm. Participants will be ordering directly from the menu, so an advance fee is not necessary; entrees run $15 to $25 per person. Reservations will be needed in advance, however. Call Claudia Nielsen, 270-1284.

No Kidding! originated in 1984 in Vancouver, BC, Canada. As of October 25, 2000, there were 52 chapters registered in the United States, Canada and Africa. The Danbury No Kidding! chapter held its first social on October 15 at Two Steps Downtown Grille in Danbury. The inaugural/kickoff event attracted a record number of attendees.

 “The idea is to be able to meet other people who are in a similar situations,” she said. “We want to provide a forum, a way for people to meet who don’t have kids.”

No Kidding! aims to bring adults together who have made the decision not to have children to talk and participate in activities, according to Mrs Nielsen. No Kidding! is an all-volunteer, non-profit social club for couples and singles who, for whatever reason, have never had children; it is not a business. Membership is open to any adult who has never parented, regardless of gender, age, color, race, ethnicity, or political, sexual or religious orientation.

Couples, singles, men and women are usually nearly equally represented. Most members of No Kidding! have thought long and hard about parenthood and many have concluded, for whatever reasons, that it just isn’t right for them, while some are still in the decision-making process. Still others will probably have children at sometime in the future, but aren’t ready just yet, says No Kidding! founder Jerry Steinberg.

People have joined No Kidding! to be able to socialize with other adults who can be spontaneous, who can chat on the phone without interruptions, and who will not alienate them by talking about kids all the time. Members and non-members organize three to eight social activities a month — most of which are smoke-free — where they can talk about careers, studies, travels, interests, sex, politics and religion ... but rarely, if ever, about children.

“It’s not that the topic of children is taboo, it’s simply not an issue with us,” explains Mr Steinberg.

Activities vary widely. Chapters have had activities including everything from hikes, wine and cheese parties, water skiing outings, pajama parties, theatre evenings, restaurant dinners and classical music evenings to museum outings, bowling, parties to celebrate any and every holiday, ice skating, house parties, and “Very Softball,” where players use a rubber ball to play.

Prospective members are welcome to attend as many open functions as they like as non-members, for a nominal function fee, usually $3. Each chapter determines its own fee structure, according to its needs and expenses.

For details, contact Claudia Nielsen at 270-1284 or send email to cnielsen@megahits.com. Additional information concerning No Kidding! is available at the web site www.nokidding.bc.ca.