For Red Duffy, meetings held by the Kitsap Senior Singles group are a place to have a good meal, have fun playing games and simply enjoy mingling with other seniors.

She is not alone.

The meetings, held once a month at various locations with a potluck dinner and games afterward, draw dozens of seniors from around the area who are looking for fun and companionship.

Duffy said she was at first hesitant to attend the events but now looks forward to the meetings.

“I go as often as I can,” she said. “I look forward to it every month.”

At a meeting held on July 29 the seniors gathered at the Willows Senior Apartments in Bremerton. The event’s dinner was peppered  with jokes, laughter and trivia games.

After dinner, the group played card and board games. Rosemary Raines, a coordinator for the events, said all senior singles in the area are encouraged to attend.

“All single seniors are welcome,” she said. “It’s a great place to come and meet new friends and communicate with other seniors.”

Raines said the group is a way for seniors to be with people their own age which can sometimes be a challenge as people get older.

“What happens is once we retire or lose someone close, our social circle shrinks,” she said. “There are hundreds of singles in a 25-mile radius in our area, and our goal is to bring them together.”

Kitsap Senior Singles, or KISS, started in 2005 and the roster has grown over the years to 144 members. Events often draw 40 or more people, Raines said. The group initially connected at local parks, but now they meet at restaurants and often at the Willows.

Duffy said the meetings are a good place to meet others who share many of her experiences and understand her point of view.

“I meet people my own age and we have things in common such as children and great grandchildren,” she said. “I don’t feel like a fifth wheel in a room full of strangers.”

Lorraine Case is another single who enjoys the meetings. Case said she always has fun and enjoys meeting with other seniors.

“It’s just a lot of fun,” she said. “We meet, talk and have fun playing games.”

Raines said many seniors can become lost in loneliness, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

“There are so many lonely seniors out there who have lost their partners,” Raines said. “They need to spend time with other people and get out and have fun.”

The events are free but donations and contributions to the potluck dinners are accepted, Raines said.