Sometimes changing the world starts with simply sitting down and talking to somebody you don’t know.
That’s why I loved talking with Marty Shapiro, owner and publisher of City Lifestyle Magazine, and the force behind bringing The Longest Table, to Stamford, Connecticut.
The idea began in Manhattan after the pandemic, when a couple put a bridge table outside their home and invited people walking by to sit down, share some food and talk about what they’d been through. That little table grew into something much bigger.
Today, Longest Table events have spread to more than 50 U.S. cities and internationally, all built around one wonderfully uncomplicated idea: bring people together over food and conversation.
And talk about BIG: Marty shared that a similar Longest Table-style gathering recently held in Romania brought together 20,000 people and set a Guinness record for the longest table!
Now Marty is bringing Connecticut’s first Longest Table to Mill River Park in Stamford, hoping to welcome 500+ people. It’s free. You bring your own food and drink — maybe your grandmother’s meatballs or your mother’s lasagna — pull up a chair and meet somebody you might never have met otherwise. In a city where Marty says 72 languages are spoken in the school district, food becomes a wonderful cultural connector.
And this isn’t supposed to be a food festival. The main attraction is conversation.
You might meet a new friend. A neighbor. A business connection. Someone from another generation or culture. Or somebody who’s been feeling isolated and simply needed a reason to get out of the house.
That especially resonated with me because after COVID I wrote How to Talk to Strangers: Advice from a Professional Stranger Talker for exactly the same reason: I wanted people to start connecting with each other again.
Because for all the technology connecting us these days, there’s still nothing quite as powerful as two human beings sitting across from one another and having a real conversation.
I think the beautiful message behind The Longest Table says it best:
Turn strangers into neighbors — and neighbors into friends.
Now THAT is my kind of table.
The Longest Table — Stamford
Saturday, September 19 | Noon–2 PM
Mill River Park, Stamford, CT
Free and open to the community. Bring your own food, bring the kids — and most importantly, bring an open mind and be ready to talk to somebody new.
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT:
091626-3
English (US) · 0:13:49
00:00
And now, back to the Debbie Nigro Show. Alright, welcome back everybody. This is Wellness Wednesday, keeping the living alive. I’m Debbie Nygro. This is the one day a week I try and make sure everybody who’s still on the planet has the best time while they’re still here. Stays alive, you know, otherwise no fun. Okay, so. I read about something that just sparked me. It’s called the Longest Table, and it’s happening in Stanford, Connecticut. I’m like, oh, this is so in my wheelhouse. It’s the vision of a very interesting man named Marty Shapiro, who’s the owner and publisher of Stanford City Lifestyle Magazine, who is the driving force behind this global movement where everybody in a community shows up free of charge, brings something with them to eat.
00:55
And shares a table that is the longest table they’ve ever sat at with all the members of their community to have conversations they might not have had otherwise in terms of human connection. This to me is the icing on the cake. I love it. Welcome, Marty Shapiro. I love you already. Well, thank you, Debbie. It’s great to be here. I wrote the book, Marty, called How to Talk to Strangers Advice from a Professional Stranger Talker. Right after COVID, I published it because I was trying to do my part to get people to get back to human connection. So when I read about what you came up with here, I was like, yes. Go, Marty. How’d you decide to do this? What was your inspiration? Well, first of all, I didn’t come up with it. I wish. I had, but I am going to be hosting the first one in Stanford this Saturday. This was the brainchild of a couple who live in Manhattan that began in 2022, just like you felt the need for neighborhood connections after the pandemic. That’s how they felt. They put a bridge table out in front of their house, and as people walk by, they just ask people to sit down and share stories about what it was like during the pandemic.
02:01
And share food. And that quickly grew. And the first one that they did was by closing off a street in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in 2022. Now, there are longest tables in over 50 cities in the US We’re doing the first one in Connecticut, in Stanford, and they were even global. There was one in Paris recently. There was a version. That took place this past weekend that is not affiliated with the longest table, 501c3, but it was in Romania and it set the Guinness record for the longest table. It had 20000 people. Oh, my gosh.
02:34
I love it. How long is your table and how do you know how many people are going to show up? That’s a great question. We have a registration form that people have been sending, but a lot of people just show up and don’t register, and I get that. We’re hoping for 500 plus. That would be an ideal number. And it’s year one, and we plan on growing it down the road. But right now, we’re probably in that 500 range, and it looks like the weather is going to cooperate with us. We’ve had tremendous outreach through my committee members who have done press releases and have done a lot of social media for us.
03:09
One of my committee members is the CEO of the Stanford Chamber of Commerce, and she sent it out to her whole list. And I’ve gotten amazing cooperation. The folks at Mill River Park and from Mayor Caroline Simmons’ office. So the outreach has been there and a lot of people have heard about it. Some have conflicts on Saturday and they can’t attend, but I think it’s for no lack of trying that we’re gonna get a ton of people to this event. This is just great, Marty Shapiro. I know I had read that after you moved to Stanford, didn’t really know anybody.
03:45
You were kind of touched by how quickly the community welcomed you. And is this sort of your way of getting everybody else to feel the same thing? Yeah, 100 You know, Stanford is a, especially where I live down in Harbor Point, it’s a lot of people coming up from New York, a lot of young couples. I came with my, at the time, 14 year old dog, didn’t know anybody in Connecticut, and I was quickly embraced by the city. And when I started publishing Stanford City Lifestyle Magazine, it really accelerated that, and I got to know so many people. My best friends in the world are now, you know, people I’ve met in Stanford over the last four years. And when I heard about this concept from a friend of the longest table, I quickly reached out and I just thought it was perfect for what I was trying to accomplish when I moved, just meeting new people, finding out where there’s a running club, finding out how to join a book club.
04:36
It could be used for B2B. One of the people who is coming is my personal trainer and he’s a nutritionist. And I said to him, Hey, Dan, you’re going to be sitting next to somebody and they’re going to say, Dan, what do you do for a living? You’re going to Tell them what you do, and inevitably they’re going to say, Oh my God, I’ve been looking for a personal trainer, or I’ve been looking for a nutritionist. Correct. And it’s going to turn into a B2B connection. Yeah. So it could take all kinds of shapes and forms, but at the end of the day, you know, it’s about community it’s about community. It’s about building that community movement and really just getting people to sit and talk. We live in such a crazy world these days that a lot of this just doesn’t exist. And people are so angry. And I think when you sit across from somebody with a shared meal, you realize that everybody’s really out here to just You know, really out here to just, you know, live a good life. And I think you’re going to find that people are going to make new friends and discover neighbors that they never spoke to at this event.
05:36
Okay, so I love the theme of communities becoming stronger when people take time to connect, okay, in an authentic way. I’m looking at some of the past tables, and I’m seeing some people have brought cakes, some people have brought homemade food, and I’m seeing an occasional bottle of wine. Is that cool, too? That is cool. Yeah. So, you know, I would say it’s 12 o’clock in the afternoon, but do what you want to do. I will not be having wine because I will be totally stressed that day, but maybe I may have some wine after the event.
06:06
But yeah, it’s really about, you know, it’s bringing your own food and your own drink, but it’s also about bringing your grandmother’s favorite meatball recipe or your mother’s favorite, you know, lasagna. It’s a cultural exchange. There are 72 languages spoken in the Stanford School District. So it’s an extremely diverse cultural city, which I love. That’s what I love about it. It’s incredible 72 languages. And I think that you’re going to get people from all different diverse backgrounds coming to this with their food and sharing. And I think that’s what it’s all about. It’s almost like a potluck, it’s almost like a Thanksgiving meal where you’re meeting new people. I love it. Are children encouraged? Can people bring their kids? Because Saturdays are hard to have. Are children encouraged? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Dogs are not encouraged, but I’m not going to turn it away. There is a dog park in Mill River, but no, children are encouraged.
07:03
I’ve got two music guests that’ll be there playing alternatively throughout the event. One is a worldclass harp player named Lisa Tannenbaum, who’s volunteered her time. She’s amazing. It’ll set a very nice tone as people walk in. And the other is a good friend of mine named Vinnie Ferrone, who’s an acoustic guitar player who’s fantastic. He does a lot of shows up here in the Connecticut area. And he’ll be there as well taking requests and just providing a little bit of background. You know the goal is not to make this into a food festival. There won’t be any food trucks or anything like that. It’s all about the conversation but this would be it’ll be nice background music but kids are definitely encouraged. I don’t want anyone to be have an obstacle to attending so there’s no way to get daycare and you want to bring your kids by all means.
07:53
Is this a good thing for somebody who doesn’t like going anywhere alone to show up at like people who get anxious when they’re going to want to do gonna want to go somewhere but they have no one to go with, like would this be a great thing if you’re a single or individual just to show up and blend in? I think so. Absolutely. I think it’s a great way to meet people. It’s very organic, you know, and I’m on the board of directors of the Stanford Senior Center and you know for months I’ve been encouraging the members to come because a lot of those folks come to the Senior Center Monday through Friday, and on the weekends they’re isolated.
08:23
And this is a great way for them to get out and again share their stories. And some of the seniors have amazing stories because they’ve been on the planet for so long that it’s just a great way to meet new people, meet your neighbors, make new friends. I really think you’re going to get millennials from the Harbor Point area coming, and you’re going to get people who’ve lived in North Stanford for 50 years coming, and people from all across Stanford. So that’s the goal. And let’s see if it comes to fruition. I think it will based on other cities. And I think we’ve got our, we’ve really, you know, crossed all of our T’s and dot all of our I’s as we’ve been preparing for this. So I think we’re in good shape for Saturday. All right. I wish you the best of good fortune and whether wise or otherwise. I hope you could come. You know, I was thinking of coming. I’m going to go home and cook now though. All right. All right. Fine. Marty. I love the concept of the longest table being built on belief that small conversations can have a lasting impact.
09:21
I read that in Connecticut Bites, they did a story and how the event promotes inclusivity and kindness and civic pride and just a greater sense of belonging by encouraging neighbors to meet one another in a welcoming, relaxed environment. And what they ended with, which I love, is at the heart, the longest table is about turning strangers into neighbors and neighbors into friends. So tell us again the details, the longest table, where is it going to be? Sure. Go ahead. So, first of all, it’s a free event. All right. So, again, just please come on out. There is no need to register at this juncture, but if you feel like registering, there’s a site called cityeventsctcom and you’ll find the longest table on there. It is from noon to 2 on Saturday, September 19th. Rain or shine, but we’re praying for the shine part. And I think the weather is going to cooperate with us. And just please come and come with an open mind. There will be icebreakers questions that we’ve developed on each table for the shy people who have trouble starting a conversation, all about Stanford. So that could be a fun aspect as well.
10:30
But yeah, and listen, I just want to give a shout out to the folks at Mill River Park, the chairman of the board, Arnold Karp, who’s a friend, and Nettie Compton, who’s their CEO, for donating the park. Mayor Simmons and her team have been amazing in helping to coordinate all this. And I’ve also have over a dozen corporations individuals who have donated to make this happen. These tables just don’t show up. So there is some financial backing that’s made this whole event happen. Can you do me a favor? Tell me who those companies are because they should be congratulated because this is not a typical event. And those who stepped up, can you get a couple of names you can throw out? I can give you a couple. I don’t want to leave anybody out. I know, Marty. I’m sorry. Some of the bigger companies are Synchrony, who’s headquartered in Stanford, Philip Morris International, who again is headquartered right down the block in Stanford, the first Bank of Greenwich who is based in Greenwich and they’ve got a branch in Stanford, Jerry Bozak who owns a funeral home who’s become a very close friend and stepped up as well.
11:33
Some realtors both commercial and residential and just other Friends and family who saw that this is an opportunity to really contribute to something special. Awesome, and okay, you wanna just, any last words about your publication? Very cool what you do, Marty. Well, thank you. Yeah, I mean, quickly, the publication’s called Stanford City Lifestyle. I own it, I publish it, I have an amazing editor named Lori Guzza, who we work hand in glove together, and it comes out, 12 times a year. It’s mailed direct to people’s mailboxes and to businesses in Stanford. And the best way to sum it up is we profile interesting people, places, and things in Stanford.
12:15
Very communitybased and we’ve been going on three and a half Years of publishing it now so very excited. The issue that’s coming out in a couple of days I’m super excited about we had former New York Knick John Starks on our cover as the Knicks you know win the championship and they’re about to raise the banner in Madison Square Garden. I’m a huge Knick fan I know about Starks and all the rest of them. I worked at Madison Square Garden for 10 years when John Starks was playing so the fact that he is now a neighbor, literally a neighbor in Stanford, was very excited. For me to be part of that story and that photo shoot. It’s really great. Marty Shapiro, so great to have you on the last. Thank you so much for doing this because you brought joy to the show today. I appreciate it. Thank you. I appreciate it. Hope to see you guys on Saturday. Okay, owner, publisher, Stanford City Lifestyle. It’s all about the longest table, you guys. You got the gist of it, right? I’ll post everything on my social media as well. If you want to do something innovative, interesting, and just feel good, you may want to attend Bring Your Own Whatever 12 to 2, okay, on Saturday in Stanford.
13:19
Thank you guys, and thank you, Marty Shapiro. More to come. I have one more segment of the show, and then, of course, the inspirational send off here on Keeping the Living Alive. Great to have you guys.
