Meetup Picks
Four Meetups With a Roof This Weekend
A no-small-talk coloring night, a tiki table with an inflatable campfire, a wine club's fifth birthday and a free Sunday of board games. Four Meetup.com picks for a weekend the Gulf has already claimed.
The Meetup Picks column usually shows up Thursday. This week it took a long weekend, which is fitting, because so should you. The Gulf will not be joining us: the National Weather Service has a high rip current risk at Manatee and Sarasota beaches through Saturday evening, and Brooke's Out There column has the rest of the soggy details. So here are four Meetup.com plans that keep you dry, or at least under something.
Friday night: color inside the lines, or don't
IFC: Sarasota Neurodivergent/Shy People Meetup hosts Color, Chat & Unwind at the Barnes & Noble café, 4010 S. Tamiami Trail, Friday, Oct. 9, 7 to 9 p.m. It's built for adults with social anxiety, ADHD or autism who want company without a performance review: no agenda, tangents welcome, and, per the event page, "zero expectation to make small talk." No event fee, but a café purchase is required, it's 21 and over, and there are 24 RSVP spots. A room full of people agreeing not to ask what you do for work is a rare luxury in this town.
Saturday noon: a campfire that cannot get rained out
The Campfire Experience is meeting at O'Leary's Tiki Bar and Grill, 5 Bayfront Drive, Saturday, Oct. 10, noon to 2 p.m. The plan is to sit in the shade of the outdoor tiki hut canopy with food and drinks from the bar and grill. Look for the table with an inflatable campfire. That is the whole set of directions, and honestly, it's enough. The event page promises "the tropical breeze off the water." Saturday's breeze has been overachieving, so hold onto your napkin.
Saturday night: a wine club turns five
Sarasota Wine and Fun! is celebrating its 5th anniversary at Bohemios Tapas Restaurant, 3246 Clark Road, Saturday, Oct. 10, 6 to 9 p.m. Bohemios closes to the public for the night "so we can celebrate in style and as loud as we want," which is the most honest event description I've read all year. Prepayment of $74.85 is required (details on the Meetup page) and covers two glasses of wine plus buffet-style tapas: empanadas, tequeños, ceviche, bruschettas, charcuterie, meatballs in jalapeño vodka sauce and bang bang shrimp. There will be raffles, a slide show and top attender awards. If you're new, you are not winning that last one. Go anyway.
Sunday: free board games, pizza included
Board Games and Card Games in Sarasota & Bradenton hosts Board Game Day on Sunday, Oct. 11, starting at noon at a spot off Bee Ridge Road (message the host for the address and RSVP, since space and parking are limited). It's free. The host provides drinks, snacks and pizza, and usually splits the room into one long, crunchy game like Root, Brass or Agricola and a table or two of lighter stuff like Azul, Carcassonne or Ticket to Ride. The event page says "We're not so bad (almost as good as Netflix)," which is the kind of confidence I respect.
If the radar clears early, Discover Greater Sarasota also has a relaxed 10 to 12 mile bike ride through Robinson Preserve at 9 a.m. Sunday, helmet mandatory. Sunday's forecast says otherwise, so check the event page before you load the bike.
None of these require getting in the Gulf. That was the main qualification this week.
— Sandy
