One of Mount Si Senior Center’s newest events, the Proud to Be 50+ meetup, is a cocktail party with appetizers, for members of the LGBTQ community and their allies. Each month, the rainbow cocktail hour is held at a different bar or restaurant throughout the Valley where people can enjoy a relaxed social event close to home.

“Mount Si Senior Center wants to help people of this community to connect with one another. We also seek to open a dialogue that will help us create programming sensitive to the needs of LGBTQ elders,” said center executive director Susan Kingsbury-Comeau. “We’ve looked around and don’t see much of that happening in the Valley.”

Each month’s gathering is in a different location and in January, Proud to be 50+ will meet at Flavour Bistro in Duvall, featuring Chef Sean Langan, who previously owned and operated the Fall City Bistro.

The event starts at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan 17, at Flavour Bistro, 15705 Main St. NE, Duvall.

For more information, go online to www.mtsiseniorcenter.org.