By Samantha SLAYBACK

In this day and age when everyone relies on technology for work and entertainment, sometimes people forget to just take an evening off to breathe, relax and take in the world around them. The folks at St. George’s Church are ready to remedy this situation and give people a night to “unplug.”

On Saturday, Nov. 15, St. George’s is inviting the community to join “An Evening Unplugged” – a night of food, fun and relaxation.

“People all lead pretty driven, frenetic lives these days, especially families trying to juggle a lot of kids’ activities,” The Reverend Amy Pringle of St. George’s said of the thinking behind a night unplugged. “There are any number of places you can go for fast-paced, digital, cutting-edge entertainment, but there are fewer and fewer options for slowing down and spending a relaxed evening together, meeting your neighbors and creating your own fun.”

Pringle added that the vision of event organizers is to have an old-fashioned village square type of place where everyone can come and “be human beings” together.

This event is new for the church, but plans are to make it a monthly occurrence. This month, the main event is a macaroni and cheese cook-off judged by Christian Clemenson, Emmy Award-winning actor and personal friend of church member and volunteer leader Joyce Ruygrok. The church invites everyone to enter dishes of their own mac and cheese recipes, or to simply come eat, socialize and enjoy.

Other low-tech entertainment options will be offered for guests throughout the evening. Board and card games will be available as well as a giant crossword puzzle on the wall, glow-in-the-dark sports equipment for older kids, a playground for younger kids and much more.

“Kids can play on the lawn, teenagers can play board games and everyone can just have a good time,” promised Ruygrok. “We hope that it will be a free event that the community can come to and enjoy.”

The volunteer-driven event is from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and is open to all in the community at no charge.

“Sure, it’s held on church grounds, but there’s nothing religious about it, and no strings attached,” assured The Reverend Pringle. “We honestly have just been asking ourselves what we can do to help make life a little easier for the people in our neighborhood, and this was our best idea.”

St. George’s Episcopal Church is located at 808 Foothill Blvd. in La Cañada.

  Samantha SLAYBACK