Long Running IRL Meetups?

November 30, 2015 10:28 AM

The classic Chicago Goat / Frog meetup is losing one portion of its evening thanks to the vagaries of the property market.
This seems like a meetup that’s been around forever, and so I thought it would be good to ask about long-running local meet-ups. Do mefites in your area regularly get together for a specific event? Have you been doing it for a long while? More than a year? Please tell.
posted by Going To Maine to MetaFilter-Related at 10:28 AM (24 comments total)

We don't have any really formal recurring event meetup in Portland, but we've had a great big pile of meetups over the years at a couple places in particular: the Green Dragon, a bar in SE that has fifty or so beers on tap at all times and a huge patio area, and Greg_Ace's house, where he's often hosted and served up home-smoked meat as a bonus.

And, vagaries of the property market, indeed: Greg got the boot recently, like a lot of renters. So we'll have to rework our housely meetup game a bit next year.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:38 AM on November 30, 2015

We do biweekly trivia in Cambridge/Somerville. It's been going on for... years? Five, six years maybe?
posted by backseatpilot at 10:38 AM on November 30, 2015 [4 favorites]

Looking through old threads, I think we started the trivia Thing summer of 2011.
posted by backseatpilot at 10:42 AM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

I know we've been Goating since at least 2007--I'm not sure when it turned into a standing First Wednesday engagement, and I don't recall when precisely the Frog portion was added. But golly I'm going to miss that part of it. Seriously.
posted by crush-onastick at 10:58 AM on November 30, 2015

I don't recall when precisely the Frog portion was added.

8:51 PM, March 3rd, 2010, as a seequel to the Super Seekrit Pedway Tour.
posted by Iridic at 12:01 PM on November 30, 2015 [3 favorites]

We'll always have The Pizza That Ate Chicago.
posted by shakespeherian at 12:04 PM on November 30, 2015

So when does TINCC* get around to hiring its historian? I might know a guy.

*There is no Chicago Cabal
posted by crush-onastick at 12:17 PM on November 30, 2015

We've been doing the trivia in Cambridge/Somerville so long that we've lost our first bar and may have to leave a second for sound reasons (literally sound reasons, there's a blown speaker that makes some rounds near impossible). Also for long enough that now some of the regular attendees now have babies, although in fairness, two of them have the same baby.
posted by maryr at 12:38 PM on November 30, 2015 [3 favorites]

A group of us in DC attend a weekly Star Trek: The Next Generation screening and happy hour at a local bar. We've only been at it for a year-and-a-bit, but it's already inspired a MeTa pony request. It is also the best. We're well past the rough first two seasons at this point and it's super fun.
posted by capricorn at 1:15 PM on November 30, 2015

I don't recall when precisely the Frog portion was added.

8:51 PM, March 3rd, 2010, as a seequel to the Super Seekrit Pedway Tour.

Wow, that pretty much automatically makes you Cabal Historian. Enjoy your new rank; it confers no privileges.
posted by adamdschneider at 1:33 PM on November 30, 2015 [4 favorites]

The Secret Toronto First Thursday Club is still going strong -- nine years! Soon we will publish The Complete Minutes of the Secret Toronto First Thursday Club! Look for it on Amazon!
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 2:32 PM on November 30, 2015

There's a Secret Toronto First Thursday Club? Dammit. I've been going to the February 30th meetups.
posted by Phire at 8:01 PM on November 30, 2015

although in fairness, two of them have the same baby

Whoa that is a crazy coincidence! Does the baby have one white eye and one red eye?
posted by en forme de poire at 9:11 PM on November 30, 2015

Iridic has always been the Chicago Cabal's historian, just as I have always been its bard.
posted by SpiffyRob at 7:20 AM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

To the best of my knowledge the baby has matching eyes, but infinite names. And a blog.
posted by maryr at 9:43 AM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

"Vergil".
posted by eamondaly at 11:40 AM on December 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

I don't recall when precisely the Frog portion was added.

8:51 PM, March 3rd, 2010, as a seequel to the Super Seekrit Pedway Tour.

This was maybe my 2nd or 3rd meetup, and apparently, according to a comment I left in the thread, I got a black eye "from karaoke accident triggered by my own idiocy and lack of grace/personal boundaries" (probably dancing and/or hitting myself with the mic); I do not remember any of this which is why I am neither the Cabal Historian or the Cabal Dance Captain.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:46 AM on December 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

But you are the first karaoke injury. Alas, not the last.
posted by crush-onastick at 11:49 AM on December 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

You are also a Karaoke Kaptain. Eamon is Karaoke Kommodore. I haven't been around long enough to decide who should be granted the rank of Karaoke Kolonel. Maybe it's you! If so, kongratulations on your promotion. If you have ever made it to a Blue Frog outing, you're a Karaoke Korporal.

There are no other ranks because nothing else can plausibly start with K.
posted by adamdschneider at 11:53 AM on December 1, 2015

Did someone mention a comment by an individual named SpiffyRob? Does anyone know who that is?
posted by shakespeherian at 11:59 AM on December 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

Sorry shakes but this callout is like the invisible pot calling the invisible kettle invisible.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:21 PM on December 1, 2015 [5 favorites]

Surely, Karaoke Kommander/Kommandant. It's like Cobra Commander, but with more Kraftwerk.
posted by axiom at 2:31 PM on December 1, 2015

Good lord, how did I forget Commander? I guess it's time for a Karaoke Kourt Martial.
posted by adamdschneider at 2:51 PM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

time for a Karaoke Kourt Martial.

Presided over by the Karaoke Kaiser and the Karaoke Khagan. With a kolor guard komprised of a kadre of Karaoke Kadets.
posted by Iridic at 3:08 PM on December 1, 2015 [2 favorites]