New Residents Welcomed to Lakewood

If you’re new to Lakewood and wanted to meet the , a member of or just pick up a few locally-baked goodies with a little fresh coffee on the side, was the place to be Wednesday evening.

The first “Welcome to Lakewood” event featured 32 community service and public institutions that introduced themselves to new Lakewood residents with two coffee shops and eight food stores donating to the event.

The City of Lakewood’s and the hosted the event.

April Stoltz, who is the co-chair of the advisory commission and has lived in Lakewood for more than 18 years, said the event was in part inspired by the film, “The New Metropolis” and the idea of making new members of the community feel welcome.

“We thought … what a great idea to, once a year, have the institutions of our community officially welcome new residents and do that in a brief but impactful way,” Stoltz, 57, said, “but have the rest of people’s time spent looking at all the different ways they can get active and engaged in the new city they live in.”