I was seated at a table ahead of a comedy show that featured Sinbad.  I shared with the woman seated at the next table, "I'm looking forward to this, I grew up with Sinbad."  She replied "Me too."

Over the course of the evening that simple exchange led to sharing she had been to the venue before, was an actress, did wardrobe consulting and one of her hobbies was kites.  

If I had not taken the initiative, I would have missed out getting to know my neighbor. 

I learned that she liked to attend the first night of an appearance because she feels that entertainers try extra hard to get word of mouth recommendations for subsequent night shows.

The show was fun and Sinbad kept the punch lines rolling.  He lost track of time, at one point asking, "What time was it?"  Audience admitted they had to go to work the following morning.  They stayed anyway.  They were there for the experience and so was I.

When do you reach out to neighbors at events?