Barrie women united through social media holding inaugural competition

A group of female friends united through a social media group are holding an 'Amazing Race'-styled challenge in July (Kent Colby/CTV News Barrie)

A group of dedicated female friends are in the final phase of preparing for an 'Amazing Race'-style event in July, open only to other women.

Last August, when COVID-19 was still keeping many people isolated from one another, Fallon Mariano found herself one of many struggling with the challenging times. Along with a close friend, she created Barrie Female Friends, a Facebook group to help bring people together.

"Specifically, I was going through some things, and I really wanted to reach out to women in the community," Mariano says. "I found that if I was thinking about it, chances are somebody else was thinking about it as well."

Since its inception nearly a year ago, the group has grown to well over 1000 members. The only rule is that you must be a woman, and you have to live in Barrie.

The group helps connect different women through various activities, including coffee meetups and spa dates, amongst many others.

"Anything that women do, we create that as an event, and then we just post it on the group and hope that people will join us," Mariano says. "When they come out to see us, they are making friends before they know it, and that is the whole purpose of the group."

Now Mariano, along with a few other friends, is creating the group's inaugural 'Amazing Race'-styled challenge. Starting at the Southshore Community Centre, participants will compete in various challenges, with checkpoints similar to the popular reality competition.

The event runs on July 9 at 11 a.m. To participate, you just have to be a member of the Facebook group. Whether joining for the challenge or not, Mariano says the group has enriched many lives.

"Just be open-minded and to really just embrace that there are other women out there that are in the same boat that you probably are, and everybody is there for the exact same reason," says Mariano. "So come out, have some fun with us and really enjoy the opportunity to just make new friends."