Shut up and mingle.

• Position: Parties - Brief Article

As fads go, here's one that isn't expected to make a lot of noise: the quiet party. Paul Rebhan, a New York artist, started the phenomenon with a musician friend after searching in vain for a bar in New York quiet enough to support actual conversation. He typed out his quiet-party pitch, sent it to friends, and posted it online. Within days, he got 200 supportive e-mails. "It's a noisy world now, and people want to take a break from art that," Rebhan says. Last year, he sponsored quiet parties in New York, Washington, London, and Beijing. Participants usually sit in a...