Meet Up is a great place!

It is a way to "meet up" with other folks who share your hobbies or interests.

You put in your zip code, and what you are looking for
small dog
cat
Sunday brunch

and see what is near you. You can also just scan what groups are near your zip code!

There is no fee to join www.meetup.com
How each group is run depends on the group. Since the organizer pays to have the group posted ($40 annually, last I looked), some try to recoup that.

I am in a small dog play group, we don't pay to join. We DO pay for each play date we attend. In part, this covers the rental fee, as we use a doggiee day care.

You can usually see what fees are involved BEFORE you join.

You join the individual groups you want, and this means you get an email when a date is set -- like an email reminder. Most groups do ask you to RSVP if you plan to attend.

For the doggie play group, we have to respond as we have a maximum due to fire code.

For a Sunday brunch group, they call and make a reservation in advance, so again it is important to RSVP and not just show up.

LOVE meetup.com!