The Official Meetup HQ Blog

Meetup lights up San Francisco skyline

by Kate

As the sun set on San Francisco a few days ago, the city sparkled below Delores Park, flame dancers began their routines, and over a hundred photographers gathered to capture it all.  What else could that mean but another fantastic Meetup?

Sheila of the San Francisco Photography Meetup hosted an epic Twilight Shoutout that included lots of fabulous opportunities to get killer photos that could then be entered into a competition to win a laptop!

Their Meetup had terrific Sponsor support, including HP and Intel as well as 10 $100 gift certificates from Best Buy. People stuck around after the Shoutout to meet new people, network, and have fun into the later hours.

One member Mukul said, "I had a great time, met some great people and shared a lot of information! Wonderful evening!" And there's definitely photo evidence to prove it in their photo album from the Meetup.

Kate is on Meetup's Community team.

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Mug Shot: Barcelona Meetup Organizers and Scott Heiferman

by Andrea

Our own Scott Heiferman was one of the keynote speakers at the Personal Democracy Forum in Europe last weekend. The setting was beautiful Barcelona, Spain.

Check out his fabulous feedback on Twitter here. You'll also find an archive of his slideshow presentation over here.

Scott hosted a Meetup on Sunday evening with the newly formed Barcelona Organizer Meetup Group (pictured above).

With all this talk about self-organization in Europe at PDF (and how!), we're hoping to see the Barcelona community grow closer together and form even more wildly successful Meetup Groups.

They're already in very, very good company. Thanks go out to everyone who attended!

Andrea leads Meetup's Community team.

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Can't Miss Meetup: apple picking outing (raspberries & grapes, too)

by Andrea

Modern supermarkets make it easy to forget that fruits and vegetables grow on bushes and trees. But now that autumn has officially arrived, it's time for one of the world's greatest fall traditions: harvest time! 

Dave took his Madison Area Vegetarian Meetup Group on their annual mecca to Door Creek Orchard recently, to pick apples, raspberries, grapes and whatever else his industrious members could get their hands on. 

With 60 members in attendance, this was a definite crowd-pleaser and a Can't Miss Meetup.

Andrea leads Meetup's Community team.

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Can't Miss Meetup: The Atlanta Science Tavern goes Hollywood

by Andrea

The Atlanta Science Tavern has an incredible mix of past events with activities like hiking and educational missions, a tutorial on the lives of stars and a guest speaker from the CDC to talk through Swine Flu concerns with members. 

You can even "talk with your mouth full", as it says on the homepage, and "chat with a scientist in plain language", which is definitely my cup of tea.

Check out a recent Can't Miss Meetup called "Hollywood Science: Good for Hollywood, Bad for Science" where Sidney Perkowitz, renowned author, presents a recent book on the subject.

Kudos to the Organizer, Josh Gough who is clearly an amazing mix-master; marrying relevance, irreverence and fun to the subject of Science. Who knew?

Andrea leads Meetup's Community Team.

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Can't Miss Meetup: Tug o' War, Picnic and Bonfire

by Andrea

All Things San Diego outdid themselves with their latest Meetup adventure, an End of Summer Tug o' War, Picnic and Bonfire. 

Not that this amazing Meetup Group doesn't already host fabulous stuff regularly like Snorkeling, Dodgeball and Nighttime Zoo excursions.  Being a grown up never looked like so much fun!

Their wildly successful Meetups may be thematically brilliant, but their overall tone and sense of purpose are welcoming and lovely too. 

Check out their Meetup Group description:

Members of our group are friendly and approachable. NO MORE seeing and doing things alone. When you attend one of our events, you'll be greeted with a smile. If you'd like we will introduce you to like minded members. We want you to meet new people, make new friends and be able to check out some of the coolest places around the city, some you might already know and some you might not.

The next time I'm in San Diego, I think I've found my home away from home.

Andrea leads Meetup's Community Team.

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Cooler than Sly Stallone

by Adam

Let's be real: everyone wanted to be a rock climbing rockstar after seeing Cliffhanger.

...well, at least I did.

While I never got around to giving it the 'ol college try, members of Durham, North Carolina's The 'I've Always Wanted to Try That!' Group went for it. 

Even better?  The Raleigh Rock Climbing Meetup was there to help them out at their recent joint Meetup! 

Ahh, teamwork. Isn't it a beautiful thing? It's awesome that two local Groups got together in order to make a successful Meetup happen.

Judging by member comments such as this one, it sounds like everyone had a blast:

"What a fabulous time! Thanks everyone for both climbing and belaying! You guys RAWK!" 

Way to work together in the Triangle!

Adam is on Meetup's Community Support team.

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The Meetup Group that Shall Not Be Named...

by Kate

... about the name on everyone's lips!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out this week and Harry Potter Meetup Groups were buzzing with activity!

There are 35 Meetup Groups who've tagged themselves with "Harry Potter" and many of them remain active between movie release dates.

NYC's Harry Potter fan Group is one great example.  They go by "The Group that Shall Not be Named," in reference to the arch nemesis in J.K. Rowling's world. 

There was of course a spectacular Meetup for opening night of The Half-Blood Prince, but these Potter fans are always exploring ways to stay connected. 

They organize Quiddich games (a popular sport in the series), readings, and outings to Potter-related performances. 

There was even a recent Meetup where they enjoyed a "Pottercast" -- an event that you should really read about on the event page to fully appreciate.

It looks like all the Harry Potter Meetup Groups have already enjoyed the film, but if you're a fan, there are plenty of future Meetups to help you stay spell-bound.

Kate in on Meetup's Community Support team.

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Learning to do things on your own, together

by Tegan

From the Meetups I wish I'd attended Archive...

The Greater Denver Urban Homesteading Group is awesome. At their Meetups, members learn how to can vegetables and bake bread and take care of bees...You know, skills that some folks' great-grandparents used to know how to do, but that most folks nowadays don't.

One of the Greater Denver Homesteading Group's recent Meetups caught my eye:

Cheesemaking 101: Making Farmhouse Cheddar

Super exciting. Making cheese! That's awesome.

But I think my favorite part about this Meetup is the spirit of sharing knowledge and skills with others that clearly comes through in the description from the Meetup's Organizer, Everett:

I am by no means a cheese making expert. If one of you are, then I invite you to teach instead of me. ;-) But I have successfully made mozzarella several times, and have made three great wheels of cheddar and one really bad wheel of cheddar (I didn't let it dry enough before sealing in wax). I still have to look at the book while I'm working, but I get better every time.

You don't need to be an expert to be an Organizer. You just have to be willing to take the time and energy to share your passions with others.

And in this case, the cheese wheel they created? Everett brought it to the Group Picnic a few weeks later to share with the rest of the Meetup Group.

Tegan is on the Community Support team at Meetup.

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"Welcome, Raw Foodies and Raw-Curious!"

by Kate

That's the headline for the Sonoma Raw Food Meetup Group.  I fall into the "Raw-Curious" category, so I decided to take a moment to look around.

Leslie and her members share recipe ideas and actual dishes with one another at every Meetup.

You probably imagine the food at their Meetups looking a little something like this:

But raw food diets can be incredibly diverse, so while salads are a given, you might be a bit surprised by their last get-together.

Organizer Leslie recently hosted a raw ice cream Meetup and it was a huge success!  The menu included raw chocolate coconut ice cream, banana ice cream and cherry sorbet, plus whatever else members brought.

Leslie is a raw nutritionist, consultant and chef, so it's no wonder she's passionate about her Meetup Group.  Her members have definitely noticed her commitment, too.  Take a look at the amazingly positive feedback from this Meetup.  Here's one comment:

Linda was again a wonderful hostess. The food was wonderful! The raw ice creams were delicious! The people are full of information and help. I am grateful to be a part of this Meetup!

And we're grateful for Meetup member and Organizers who make Meetups like this possible.  Salud!

Kate is on Meetup's Community Support team.

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Meetup on the Rooftops!

by Camila

Drive-in Movies... Open fields, moonlight reflecting on car windows, lousy audio, the feeling of shutting off the world and voluntarily enclosing yourself in a different reality.

But now you're in New York City and you don't own a car, you can't afford to shell out $12 bucks for a movie ticket, and the last time you found yourself in a wide open space was at the corner of Broadway and 42nd Street.

No matter: you can still relive that drive-in experience, as long as you're up for a New York twist. At least that's what the members of the Hell'z Kitchen 'Rooftop' Drive-In Movie Club are doing.

You can bring your own seat, your own beverage, and your own date! Check out this great photo from last month's Meetup -- a Bladerunner/Blues Brothers double feature:

Can you think of a better way to enjoy a warm summer night in NYC?

Camila is a Meetup Support Specialist.

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