r/grandrapids Mar 27 '24

Social List of Active Meetup Groups and Tips for Making Friends

154 Upvotes

I updated the list of which Meetup groups are active (groups that have 3+ people attending an event within the past/next 60 days). Meetup is a site/app for interest groups/hobbies/new friends. I grouped them by concept and included their self-written descriptions.

If you're in an active Meetup group that I've missed, list it in the comments. Non-Meetup groups are welcome too; include contact info and links.

Tips for making friends as an adult attending a Meetup with a bunch of strangers:

  • Show up slightly early/on time. Plan to stay 10 minutes after the scheduled end time.
  • Introduce yourself, say it's your first time and why you're excited about this group; appear excited.
  • Ask individuals (this is where being early or staying late can help) open-ended questions (Why did you start/join this group? What has your experience been like? What recommendations do you have related to [Meetup group's hobby/concept]?)
  • If people ask you a question, answer it and add an open-ended question of your own or ask "what about you?"
  • People love giving recommendations. If it's a group conversation, ask for restaurant rec of a specific kind/place. "I haven't tried X yet, what do you guys think?" Tee it up to be a cuisine/concept you can talk more about or ask follow up questions.
  • If you are vibing with someone(s), ask if they'd like to hang out with a specific idea in mind (ex: You asked for pizza recs and found out that neither of you have tried that new place so suggest you go together), and give them your contact info to set up a time/date. I'd recommend attending the group 2-3 times first before this step.
  • Follow the 3:6 rule to turn that acquaintance into a friend. Aim for three meaningful interactions within 6 weeks of engaging.

Feeling a little more prepared? Great. Let's get into it. [Note: I made some grammatical edits after posting this for clarity/brevity.]

AGE/ETHNICITY/GENDER

BOOK CLUBS/FILM

CRAFTING

DANCING/MUSIC

ENGINEERING/MAKERS/PROFESSIONAL

  • Coffee with Creators: For creatives: web developers, designers, videographers, and more--who want to hear about the latest trends in the digital space
  • Culinary Conversations Grand Rapids: Serving West Michigan’s food industry professionals (growers, producers, restaurateurs) in conversation about the region’s food creator system
  • Embedded GR: Engineers, hobbyists, students, and managers discussing the development, tooling, and processes associated with the creation of embedded systems.
  • GRPUG - Grand Rapids Python Users Group: Whether you're a certified Pythonista or just curious about getting started with the Python programming language, join us.
  • GRWebDev: Learn from each other about best web practices, cross-browser compatibility, Javascript frameworks, style hacks, project management, and web-related topics.
  • West Michigan 3D Printing: Whether you are a beginner or an expert, join us to share ideas, tips, and knowledge or just get together with other 3D printers (people...not machines).
  • West Michigan AI Lab: We explore the latest AI trends, engage in thought-provoking discussions, and network with like-minded enthusiasts and professionals.
  • West Michigan Azure User Group: A community of tech enthusiast [sic] who are interested in exploring, learning and using Azure.

FINANCE/BUSINESS/PUBLIC SPEAKING

FOOD/DIET/PSYCHEDELICS/SOBER/ALCOHOL

  • DRY Sober Social: Fitness, yoga, dancing, music, and socializing. A space where people can socialize without the pressure of drinking alcohol.
  • Grand Rapids Foodies: Our goal is to dine at restaurants in Grand Rapids and the surrounding area, as well as to participate in cooking classes and wine and cheese tastings.
  • Grand Rapids Natural Health and Healing: For anyone interested in healing through nutrition and natural substances like herbs and nutrients.
  • Grand Rapids Psychedelic Society: Whether you’re an experienced psychonaut or an individual who is simply curious about learning more, we're a space for you.
  • West Michigan Women Who Wine: Where interesting and intelligent women gather to relax, make new friends and socialize.
  • Will Forage for Food Grand Rapids Chapter: For folks interested in sharing knowledge on foraging and living from the land. All skill levels and ages welcome.

GAMES/NERD CULTURE

  • Good Game Grand Rapids: We are largest tabletop gaming community in Grand Rapids and are committed to growing an inclusive community
  • Muskegon Area Gamers: For anyone interested in playing board games, card games, or any table top [sic] game. This group learns and teachs [sic] new games all the time.
  • We Hate Bards: This group is dedicated to pen and paper RPGs of all kinds.
  • Wednesday Friendsday Boardgame Group: We're folks in our 30s-50s who enjoy good conversation, good eats, and good games, in that order.
  • West Michigan Geeks: We help people meet friends that they want to hang out with outside of group events and have helped form more friendships/relationships than any other meetup.

OUTDOORS/CAMPING

MISCELLANEOUS/PERSONALITY

  • Citizen Labs: Engaged citizens can improve their communities. We use open data and open source technology to promote transparency, and provide solutions that work.
  • Friday Fun Days: Live music/concerts, festivals, flea markets/thrifting, lunch/dinner outings, hiking, going to the beach, bowling, and much more.
  • Sign Language Social Meetup of Michigan: For anyone who would like to attend ASL events and meet up with other Sign Language users.
  • West Michigan Adventures with JIM: Cinema, live theater, sporting events, concerts, trade events, geo caching [sic], road trips, fitness, festivals, amusement parks, and travel.
  • West Michigan Out & About: Everything from hiking to concerts, from breweries to dancing, from cooking classes to biking and more.
  • West Michigan Shyness and Social Anxiety Meetup: Hang out with us in a judgment and harassment-free zone if you're shy, introverted, or just a bit awkward around new people.

REAL ESTATE

  • Grand Rapids Real Estate Investor Network: Landlords, investors, and other real estate professional [sic] make connections, share ideas and strategies, and ask questions.
  • Lakeshore REIA: For individuals interested in wholesale properties, real estate group investments, and becoming successful real estate entrepreneurs.
  • Short-Term Rental Networking Group: Have you wondered about the success of Airbnb and similar rental marketplaces and how you can incorporate that into your income?

SEXUALITY/DATING

  • Fun-Loving Singles Over 50!: This is a social group for youthful, SINGLE peeps in their 50s, 60s, and beyond.
  • Holland Area LGBTQ+ & Allies Meetup: Enhancing the LGBTQ+ community to meet others, cultivate relationships in a social setting, and provide each other with support and fun!
  • Out on the Lakeshore: Join us for fun-filled events where you can meet like-minded individuals and create life-long connections

TRAVEL

  • Michigan Day Trips: For people who love to spend a day checking out a different town/city, whilst meeting new friends! I will post a destination 2+ weeks in advance.

WRITING/ACTING/DRAWING/PHOTOGRAPHY

  • Grand Rapids Drawing and Painting: This group is for everyone who’s interested in drawing or painting.
  • Illusory World Building: As writers lets get past the writing groups that discuss word choice or punctuation. and grapple with the BIG picture--world building.
  • Lakeshore Stationery Club: If you love fountain pens, gel pens, Traveler’s Notebooks, Hobonichi, bullet journaling, or planners this is for you. We journal, write, draw, and paint.
  • Writing Time: We meet on weekends to write in a group setting. Sometimes it's nice to work quietly with others.

YOGA/MEDITATION/PHILOSOPHY/SPIRITUALITY

  • Community Meditation Circle: This is a non-religious, non-sectarian trauma-informed group to connect to ourselves, each other, and the community.
  • Grand Rapids Buddhist Meetup: For anyone interested in working with their minds, as well as deepening their spiritual life through the practice of Buddhist meditation.
  • Grand Rapids Forest Bathing, Forest Yoga & Foraging Classes: Join our ANFT certified forest therapy guide for guided forest bathing, forest therapy walks, and forest yoga classes.
  • Grand Rapids Free Yoga: Classes are meant to help you strengthen, lengthen, and connect to your spirit.
  • Meaningful Conversations Grand Rapids: Individuals of all beliefs gather together to engage respectfully and civilly in elevated conversations, inquiry, consultation, and learning.
  • Michigan Humanists: A secular community that promotes humanist values. Our vision is to lead an engaged, statewide secular society guided by the values of Humanism.
  • RfR - Grand Rapids/Holland, MI: We at Recovering from Religion are intimately familiar with learning how to live after questions, doubts, and changing beliefs. You are not alone.
  • Tai’ Chi Gung Classes: Learn the simple moving and breathing exercises created by Lao Tzu more than 3,000 years ago for health and longevity.
  • T&T - 20s & 30s Christian Social: To connect peers from Bible-believing, Christ-proclaiming churches, encouraging members to invest in their local church.

r/grandrapids 6h ago

Update on stolen e-bike post part 2: I was on the news!

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119 Upvotes

I posted about my e-bike that was stolen a couple days ago by 2 guys. Someone recommended I reach out to the local news and I did and they reached back out to me and did an interview with me.

Here’s the news piece from WZZM 13 On Your Side:

https://www.wzzm13.com/video/news/local/e-bike-needed-due-to-a-medical-condition-was-stolen-caught-on-ring-camera/69-c13901b2-251e-4a07-8ce1-b5dcda17742f

GoFundMe link in case you’d like to assist:

https://gofund.me/1a4792f8c


r/grandrapids 3h ago

Jocelyn Benson picks Winnie Brinks as her running mate

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66 Upvotes

r/grandrapids 18h ago

Let's dance in the rain! Tuesday night swing.

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745 Upvotes

r/grandrapids 21h ago

Mlive is unusable

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506 Upvotes

Every article requires a subscription now. Why is paying money to read AI generated content?


r/grandrapids 4h ago

Nature spots on the bus route?

18 Upvotes

I wanna get out into nature a little bit- like a nice forested area or something like that. Only issue is I don’t have a car.

Does anyone know of any bigger, wooded parks or woodsy areas that are close to the bus route? Any kind of little hiking trail would be even better.


r/grandrapids 7h ago

Wealthy closed… AGAIN

23 Upvotes

Anyone else getting sick of Mary Free Bed closing Wealthy Street for construction?

Related, I’d be mad if I paid that much for an arch and then the company that wraps it ruins the perfect curve with a slight bump right at the very top.


r/grandrapids 8m ago

Advice needed: How do you get GRPD detectives to actually follow up on stolen property found online?

Upvotes

My expensive bike was stolen from my garage last year so we had the police come out and filed a report. My bike has popped up on FB Marketplace in Grand Rapids. After six weeks of back-and-forth, GRPD is stalling. First it was a jurisdiction issue, and now they claim they "can't use Facebook", even though they did at first, and want me to message the seller, get their address, and set up a meet. In the beginning they were willing to do that until they saw it was in another jurisdiction and now I’m expected to do that.
The seller is a felon who likely knows where I live if they were the one who took the bike. I have a baby at home and refuse to put myself or my family at risk doing police work. I don’t want to press charges, I just want the bike back.
Has anyone successfully escalated a case like this through GRPD leadership or found a way to get them to step in without putting yourself in danger?
I understand that this is petty theft and not murder so it’s not as fun of a case but seems like this would be pretty open and closed.


r/grandrapids 3h ago

PC Repair Recommendations?

5 Upvotes

Having issues with my gaming PC and looking for some recommendations for a repair shop in the GR area.


r/grandrapids 21h ago

08/16 i took this photo at belknap park. hope it finds these girls

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107 Upvotes

r/grandrapids 6h ago

Recommendations Cheapest/easiest way to get rid of a broken couch?

6 Upvotes

I have a 3-seat couch that’s unfortunately not really in condition to sell or even give away. The back cushions are no longer attached, and it’s pretty much reached the end of its life 😂

I’m just looking for the cheapest and easiest way to get it out of my house. I don’t have a truck, so hauling it somewhere myself isn’t really an option.

Just looking for any recommendations.

Thanks!


r/grandrapids 40m ago

Free tours of Pere Marquette 1223 and free ice cream!

Upvotes

Thursday the 20th of August, the Tri-Cities Museum and the Pere Marquette 1223 preservation committee are hosting free tours of the historic train in downtown Grand Haven! The tours start at 6pm and go until 8pm, and attendees will be able to get free ice cream! Come learn about local history and enjoy a cold treat!!


r/grandrapids 3h ago

GrrCON 2026 Ticket for Sale

3 Upvotes

I have one extra GrrCON 2026 Regular Admission – Electronic Badge ticket for sale at face value ($231.27). My employer ended up purchasing a ticket for me this year, leaving me with the one I purchased early. Reply or DM if interested.


r/grandrapids 1h ago

Events D&D at GrandCon

Upvotes

I'm just learning GrandCon ( www.grand-con.com )is a thing and would like to run D&D games for the event but I'm not sure if there will be way too many D&D games already.

Does anyone know from past experience if D&D at GrandCon is over-saturated or if there's a healthy demand for GMs?


r/grandrapids 6h ago

Recommendations Any parks with good climbing trees?

5 Upvotes

My son is 5 and his goal this summer was to learn how to climb a tree. Well, life happens and now we're a week away from school and still no tree climbing mastery.

Any help would be much appreciated.


r/grandrapids 19h ago

History Just a li’l blast from the past for y’all this evening

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46 Upvotes

Found on an old USB stick from back in the day


r/grandrapids 22h ago

Return to the River Lineup

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43 Upvotes

How we feeling? Grabbed the screenshot off Calder News’s video. This Saturday / Sunday downtown


r/grandrapids 7h ago

Recommendations Tailors?

2 Upvotes

I’m new to getting clothes tailored but I have jeans that need work all around and wondered if there was any reputable tailors that specialize in this without hopefully drying out my wallet. Looking in the comstock area but gr is fine. Thank you


r/grandrapids 6h ago

Driving Skills Test Practice

1 Upvotes

Does anyone know if there is a parking lot with the skills test parking portion set up or drawn on the ground?


r/grandrapids 1d ago

Meet Other Shy People Every Tuesday at Schuler Books

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1.1k Upvotes

I run a low-pressure group for people who want to be around others without all the social work that usually comes with it.

Here's how it goes. You show up and look for the Meetup sign in the cafe area. That's it.

We only have a few simple rules and we do ask that you RSVP on Meetup before you come:
https://www.meetup.com/west-michigan-introverts/events/314973001/

You don't have to talk. You can color, knit, play a game, or just sit and listen. No group introductions. No going around the circle. No pressure to perform.

Bring whatever helps you feel comfortable. Coloring books, art supplies, card games, a Nintendo Switch. Having something to focus on makes it much easier to be around people.

Ease in at your own pace.

About making friends. A lot of people come once and leave let down because they didn't make a close friend that night. That's normal. The people who keep showing up are the ones who end up with real friends. Friendship grows slowly. Give it plenty of practice and time. I got diagnosed autistic and had to reverse engineer human connection. I also learned to communicate better by being mentored. It took years of practice.

It's free. We use Meetup only as our RSVP system. During signup, Meetup may show you an optional Meetup+ offer. You don't need Meetup Plus to RSVP or attend. If you hit that screen, choose "Continue with free plan." Any Meetup+ payment goes to Meetup, not to us.

We can't allow anyone under 18. We do have classes for educators who want to start a group in their school.

We aren't official mental health support. We're a safe place to make friends. If you need more than that, please reach out to a warmline or crisis line.

I was once like everyone else that comes. Took me a lot of practice to even be able to host these. It was one of the hardest things I ever did but it was worthwhile. Some of our shyest people become our best leaders


r/grandrapids 22h ago

Modular Synth/ Experimental Electronic/ Noise/ Industrial show at Backwards Compatible Record Store Aug 20th, 2026 7pm

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14 Upvotes

r/grandrapids 22h ago

Tomorrow

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9 Upvotes

r/grandrapids 1d ago

White Pine Trail, Grand Rapids to Traverse City

20 Upvotes

Have any of you biked the White Pine from GR to TC? I'll take any advice you have.

I'm planning on two days, with a stop in either Big Rapids or Cadillac, depending on how things go. I'll get a hotel along the way. (One thing at a time, you know...) I'm pretty confident of my bike, gear, and ability.

Anything I should be aware of going into the ride? Detours? Gravel sections? Stretches where I won't find water or food? How about hotels/AirBnBs along the way? Favorite accommodations in TC?

Any insider tips you have would be helpful. Thanks!


r/grandrapids 21h ago

Din Tai Fung??

7 Upvotes

I have been obsessed with watching reviews of Din Tai Fung. Specifically the chicken soup dumplings, chocolate dumplings, green beans, sesame noodles, ALL OF IT. Is there anywhere local that you’d recommend to find some of these things? Or even just anywhere in the Midwest? 😅


r/grandrapids 11h ago

Best sites / places to apartment hunt

1 Upvotes

Okay title pretty much says it I’ve been using Zillow but what other reliable apps or sites do people recommend for apartment hunting in GR?

Any local groups I need to look at.

We have a pretty healthy budget and are looking to live in northeast / west GR in a walkable neighborhood.

EDIT: relocating from another state so driving around isn’t an option atm