Kevin Vasquez wanted to find a way to get people off of their phones and back into real-life conversations. Vasquez, 24, is currently studying business and entrepreneurship at the University of Texas at Arlington. “I am working toward one day owning a cafe and restaurant where I can host soc ial events for the community to meet new people,” Vasquez said. So where would a busy 20-something come up with an idea to bring total strangers together on Dallas’ Katy Trail? “It started when my cousin Natalie invited me to walk and talk on the Katy Trail before work. That lasted about a month or two before I switched jobs and could not keep attending. Then in January of this year, a friend from church wanted to walk and talk on the Katy Trail on Thursday nights. We connected deeply, and I realized our young adults group at church needed something like this too. I invited everyone in Sunday class to a Friday night walk and talk, and only one person showed up. So I posted about it online, including a TikTok video that got around 30,000 views, and about 25 people came out,” Vasquez said. Three months later, more than 250 people are participating. “We have seen dozens of those moments, and probably many more we never even hear about [where people have connected],” Vasquez said. They host a Walk Talk every Friday, weather permitting. “Our next event is this Friday, July 3 at 7 PM. Everyone gets randomly partnered up to walk with someone new, in hopes that a real friendship forms from it,” Vasquez said. July 3 meetup will start at the Thomsen Overlook on the Katy Trail. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less