Building community is hard.

Walking into a new city and finding your people always sounds a lot easier than it is. Meeting someone on a park bench, sitting down with a stranger at a cafe, an event you get randomly invited to.

The reality is different. It can be very difficult to "break into" a new city. Events are great for this - an opportunity to connect with people that have similar interests and build relationships that extend past singular events to a genuine community of friends.

But what about when finding events is difficult? The current events space is fragmented, and the consumer suffers for it; endless scrolling through event listings and social media, checking a ton of different sources, awkwardly showing up to an event without knowing if it's your vibe, and ultimately still missing a lot of great experiences because you don't hear about them.

We know, because we've been there. When Simon & I first moved to Victoria, we knew no one outside our small group of roommates. We both wanted to build community and we both knew the best way to do that was attending events - that's when we realized just how difficult that seemingly simple task was.

That's why we created LampPost.

It's built to solve a problem that we know firsthand: how difficult it is to find a community in a new city - or even one that you've lived in for years. It's built to solve the fragmented events space and take the guesswork out of your social life. We sift through every event in Victoria - from underground shows to big festivals, craft workshops to run clubs - so that you don't have to. Twice a week, we deliver those in one comprehensive list of all the events going on around town in a short 5-minute read to save you hours of scrolling and help you feel more connected to the Victoria community.

But we're more than an events calendar. We wanted to create something that not only made finding events easier, but something that helped bring people together. That's our founding ethos - we're a connection service. A platform for building community through finding events, through our own hosted events and regular meet-ups, and finally with our small, cozy cohort gatherings.

In a digital world where digitization has pulled us further apart, we want to use our digital platform as a tool to bring back what community should really be about: real people, real events, real connection.

So, if you're trying to step into the heart of Victoria's vibrant energy and opportunities, either as a newcomer to the city or an experienced vet, LampPost is here for you. We've been where you are, and we've built this platform to help you discover your place.  

Jared Leary

Co-Founder
LampPost Victoria

Simon Larocque

Co-Founder
LampPost Victoria