2026 Gatherings
[ OVERVIEW ]Kingston NetworkBuddy gatherings are small, peer-led spaces in Kingston for people navigating the long middle of migration, work, school, permits, caregiving, or other major life changes. KNB is for people who want real connection without pressure to pitch, perform, or already know how the room works.
[ WHAT KNB IS ]KNB is a grassroots, peer-run gathering space. It is not a formal program, service, or institution. The room is shaped by the care, capacity, and honesty of the people who show up.
[ COMMUNITAS ]Communitas, not Community
Community usually means people who share a place, identity, origin, or network.
Communitas is different: it is the bond that can form between people moving through the same threshold at the same time, where status matters less and recognition runs sideways rather than from above.
That is the difference KNB is built around.
[ who is it for ]KNB is for people still inside the transition, not speaking from the other side.
This includes newcomers, international students, PGWP holders, and others carrying uncertainty, exhaustion, grief, loneliness, or disorientation that is hard to explain elsewhere.
If you are looking for a room where you do not have to sound settled to belong, this space is for you.
[ what to expect ]A small room. Peer-led conversation. No pressure to speak.
You can talk, listen, stay quiet, or just be there. Presence counts. There is no curriculum, no expert panel, and no expectation that anyone will fix what you carry.
[ what IT ISN'T ]This is not a networking mixer, settlement service, therapy session, or advice space. No selling. No unsolicited fixing. No pressure to sound positive, resolved, or useful.
KNB is organized around shared phase, not expertise, success, or arrival.
[ what THIS SPACE ASKS ]Come as you are, and be honest about where you actually are. You do not need to sound hopeful, clear, or okay to belong here.
2026 Winter Gathering
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Kingston, ON · Prof. Lisa’s Home Backyard · 10 Mar 2026
Our 2026 Winter Gathering was a turning point. In a cozy home, people named the heavy, private parts of Stage 2—work, permits, health, homesickness—in front of others who were also in the middle. Some of us still reached for reassurance or quick positivity out of habit, but the gathering made clear that most people needed to be fixed first, not fixing. It was the relief of being recognized where they actually are.
Read more on Mariana’s post-gathering reflections in our LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7437907075688628224
