Category: Past Events

  • The 2025 Fine Dining Banquet

    The 2025 Fine Dining Banquet

    On November 14th, 2025, Social Lights hosted our second annual Fine Dining Banquet in Wheaton, Illinois. It was an amazing night for young adults to come together and fellowship with both old and new friends!

    Our theme this year was old Hollywood glamour–our tables featured many actors and actresses from around the 1940s, and the walls were adorned with famous movie posters. We feasted on Italian delight from Olive Garden, and dessert was a fudge brownie topped with ice cream, a cherry, and whipped cream. Our dinner was delightfully accompanied by a lovely live pianist, Michelle Martisek, who performed classic movie themes and pieces from the time period.

    Our master of ceremonies, Craig Robison, very cordially called attendees’ attention to the “would you rather” questionnaire at their tables, and later brought three table representatives in front of the diners to test how well they knew their fellow table dwellers. Our keynote speaker, JY Yoon, gave an inspiring exhortation on what true friendship looks like. The mastermind himself, David Robison, wrapped up speechmaking by sharing about Social Lights; how it started, and where it is going.

    At the conclusion of the evening, we crowned the Finest Diner of the evening, and ended the night with a good ol’ dance party!

    This 2025 Banquet was a major success. We almost doubled our attendance from last year! A huge, heartfelt thank you to the good folks at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Wheaton for allowing us to use your building!

    As we move into 2026, we will continue to provide young adults all over Chicagoland with a fun, friendly, and Christ-centered atmosphere. Our goal is to be the place you can meet and fellowship with friends and make new ones!

    Below are some testimonies from guests, as well as some photos taken by our phenomenal photographer, Katherine Simeon, from this year’s fine dining banquet.

    The testimonies:

    “Social Lights’ Fine Dining event was a wonderful experience. From the lively atmosphere to the well-organized, thoughtfully mixed tables, it provided a great opportunity to meet fellow believers in Christ. Personally, the highlight was the volunteers-their dedication and efficiency made the event both enjoyable and comfortable.” – Eddie C

    “It was a wonderful event, and I had so much fun socializing and participating in all the fun activities!” – Megan S

    “I thought that the fine dining banquet was a really great experience where I was able to meet new people and get to know them!” – Debbie C

    Thank you all for your support, and we hope to see you at another event soon!

    Have any questions or concerns? Feel free to connect with us via sociallights24@gmail.com

  • The 2024 Fine Dining Banquet

    On November 9th 2024 we at Social Lights hosted our first kick off event right here in Joliet Illinois. The 2024 Fine Dining Banquet was a night for young adults to come together with old friends and have a chance to make new ones. Our theme was The Roaring ’20s. Our excellent chef cooked a delicious Chicken Provencal and we all enjoyed the irresistible treat of Cheesecake Factory’s signature cheesecake. Meanwhile the musical stylings of Molly Rose and the Ragtime Rickys set the tone.

    Guests also participated in social games and wrote compliments to one another. Our keynote speaker Reverend James Stafford delivered a talk about the dangers of excessive phone dependency. The host, David Robison, also delivered a speech about the Social Lights and how it got started. Both speeches are available below.

    At the end of the night, we awarded the person who’d been voted Finest Diner. And, in true young adult fashion, we closed the night with a dance party.

    The 2024 Fine Dining Banquet was the first of what we hope to make an annual event. Yes, the rumors are true, a 2025 Fine Dining Banquet is in the works. We hope to make this year an even richer and more memorable experience than last year. It’s our hope to bring together young people from across the Chicagoland area, and farther, into a safe and friendly place where they can spend meaningful and enjoyable time with friends. We hope to give people a place to look forward to going.

    Registration for the 2025 Fine Dining Banquet will open May 5th. You’ll find the link to register here on our site and you can receive email notification when registration opens, as well as notification for all our other upcoming events, if you subscribe below.

    We hope to see you at an event soon!

    Speeches from the 2024 Fine Dining Banquet

    Reels Friendship vs Real Friendship – Reverend James Stafford

    An Introduction to Social Lights – David Robison