About us
Welcome to the club for people with tabs open.
Maybe yours are about a new museum show, a suspiciously elaborate escape room, a lecture on urban coyotes, a repertory screening, and an architectural style you learned about yesterday. Excellent. Bring them.
You don’t need to be an expert. Enthusiasm beats expertise around here. Know everything about Bauhaus typography? Great. Just learned Bauhaus isn’t a hardware store? Also great.
👥 30–55, intentionally: Curiosity is ageless; this particular social circle isn’t. We’re building friendships among people in roughly the same chapter of adulthood, so this group is specifically for folks 30–55.
What things might we do?
A lot, deliberately.
- 🎨 Art, museums, architecture, theater and experimental performances.
- 🔭 Science talks, planetariums, history, oddball tours and opportunities to learn something extremely specific for no practical reason.
- 🎬 Indie films, cult classics, comedy, games, workshops, immersive experiences, festivals and assorted Denver weirdness.
- 🥂 Actual socializing: We’ll often add a drink, snack, or hang before or after. The rabbit hole deserves a debrief.
The social experiment
Meetup is very good at giving you people to do something with on Thursday. We’re aiming for people you eventually text on your own.
No networking. No collecting strangers you once went to Meow Wolf with. Familiar faces, repeat hangs, and enough shared weirdness for friendship to hopefully maybe actually occur.
🪑 Small on purpose: Most events will be capped around 6–10 people. Big enough for new chemistry, small enough that you can actually learn someone’s name. We’re building a community, not managing a crowd.
How to be excellent here
- 📸 Use your real name and a clear photo. Friendship (and safety) is easier when nobody has to wonder whether “DragonSlayer8472” with a cartoon portrait is meeting us outside the theatre. Profiles without these things will not be approved.
- 🧠 Bring curiosity, not credentials. Ask questions, share what you know, and nobody needs to win the conversation.
- 🫶 Help make the room work. Introduce yourself. Notice who’s new. Pull someone in. Being interesting is lovely; being interested is better.
- 💬 Keep it light and kind. Interesting conversation is the point, and disagreeing about the art/movie/idea is half the fun. But a night out with new friends isn’t the place for politics, hot-button debates, trauma dumping, or dominating the conversation. Stay warm, playful, curious, and aware of the room.
- 🎟️ RSVP responsibly. Showing up when you said you would is part of being a good member of the room. If plans change, let the host know so your absence doesn’t pull attention away from the people who are actually there. Two no-shows, or a pattern of flaking or significant lateness, may result in removal from the group.
Finally, support keeps us going: Artistry/Nerdistry is a labor of love! Did you know Meetup organizers pay $360/year out of pocket to host? If you’re able, we suggest $5 per event or $20/year to help keep the adventures coming. Just send a Venmo/Paypal to me @mandirao (or ask me for Zelle). Couldn't do it without you! 💖
Upcoming events
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🤦🏻♀️ The Moth GrandSLAM: “Should Have Known” Storytelling
Newman Performing Arts Center, Denver, CO, USTen storytellers. Ten things they absolutely should have known better about. A room full of people grateful it wasn’t them.
The Moth’s Denver GrandSLAM brings ten winners from its local open-mic StorySLAMs back for one final showdown—true stories, told live and without notes. This year’s theme: SHOULD HAVE KNOWN—bad calls, worse assumptions, and hindsight arriving fashionably late.
Funny, painful, beautifully told. Secondhand cringing likely.🔥 Sellout likely. Don't sleep on tickets. See below to get yours. 🔥
- 📍 Meetup Plan: Seating is general admission, so let’s get in line around 6:15 PM to improve our odds of good seats together, then grab drinks/snacks before things get underway. Doors open at 6:30 PM; stories start at 7:30 PM.
- 🎟️ Grab your ticket ASAP: $44 via the Newman Center. Yes, RSVP here → ticket there; bureaucracy has claimed enough victims already.
Q: What's the RSVP policy? 🚫
A: RSVP etiquette is crucial! No-shows can throw off the vibe of the event, so we kindly ask that you shoot the host a message or un-RSVP before the event starts if you can't make it. Two no-shows may result in removal from the group.Q: How can I support? 💌
A: Did you know that your humble organizers pay about $360 a year to bring events to you on Meetup? A tiny annual donation from you is all it takes to keep the events coming. Suggested donation is $5/event or $20 for unlimited events. Just send a Venmo/Paypal to me @mandirao (or ask me for Zelle). Couldn't do it without you! 💓2 attendees
Past events
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