Mandy, I can't speak for others (obviously), but for myself, the idea is intriguing, but I'm nervous. Why am I nervous? I'm not that great with new social situations. I'm shy. I'm bashful. I feel awkward. Now, as I've written before, I've been on a kick where I do these things anyhow, regardless of how I feel. They end up being not so bad, but still I get stagefright before I do something like this. So, what I'm saying is, I'd like an event where people like me can feel at ease. What does that event look like? Hmmm... Good question.
Getting lubed, as you put it, helps to ease the tension, no question. Another thing that helps in situations like this is to have "facilitators", people who encourage conversation. Last week, for example, I went to a similar event at the KATU studios. They held a blogger meet-up. I was just as nervous going into that, though I knew I'd see some familiar faces (which made things easier). The hosts did a fine job of engaging those of us who showed up first. They asked us questions and got us talking about ourselves. They then introduced us to other bloggers and moved on. This seemed to work well. Also, there were no chairs. This may sound dumb, but it encouraged milling about and mingling.
I know that the above isn't very helpful, but it's what immediately comes to mind. I'll be at your shindig, but I'll be nervous about it.
