Contact with locals

I had mentioned in a thread that I like to have contact with locals when traveling.
Coalcliff replied to that: "It's an interesting notion ... what does 'come into contact with the locals' mean exactly? What locals do you meet other than those who give you a room key, or sell you a meal or a ticket to something? Or do you stroll up to random strangers sitting in a Berlin | Paris café or park, and say, "Hi, I'm Shirley from Upper Poddington in Hampshire, and I'm here to make contact with locals like you who live in very interesting suburbs. This is a very important aspect for me when I travel." "May I sit here and bore the pants off you? No, no need to inch away. Why are you calling the police? Don't you find me just as interesting?".

I'll give a few examples (that have stuck in my mind) of what I mean by socializing with locals - in restaurants, bars, parks or at events.
In Sharm-El-Sheik we met a wealthy extended Egyptian family. Some of the family were sitting at the next table at dinner and we watched together as a man heaped spaghetti from the buffet onto his plate with his hands. We kept in touch for years afterwards.
In Costa Rica, we sat next to locals on the beach. They asked us to look after their things for a moment as they wanted to get something to eat. When they came back, we had a very interesting conversation about how the normal “ticos” were doing.
We were in Recife and Olinda (Brazil) during carnival time. You quickly make contact with the locals as they were very curious to know where we were from. The conversation was in a mixture of languages, but we understood each other.
In Israel, we stayed overnight in a kibbutz and had a very intense and interesting conversation with the kibbutz leader in the evening. We learned a lot about the “normal” people who live in Israel.
In Perth (Australia), we met an Australian family in a park who approached us. They invited us to their home in Hillarys and later visited us in Europe.
If you don't make contact with the locals in a pub in Ireland, it's your own fault...
Another place where you can quickly make contact with locals is in a supermarket. If you are looking for something special, there are usually local women there to help you. And you can strike up a conversation.