Talk to Strangers Chicago

Our 13th Annual AMAZING River Tubing BYOB Float Trip w/ All You Can Eat Taco Bar

Sat, Aug 15 · 9:15 AM CDT

Riverside Rentals, 589 E Old State Rd 14, Winamac, IN, US

Due to high river levels from all the rain, sadly the trip has been cancelled.

Grab your floaties and coolers and JOIN US on our 13th annual float trip! Hang out with 2 busloads (110 people!) of fun-loving and friendly Meetup folks for THE BEST day trip EVERRRRR!

This trip is an amazing way to get out of the city and onto tubes floating down a river with a drink in hand under the warm summer sun. You just can't beat it :) And these trips sell out REALLY early, so SAVE YOUR SPOTS here right away!

THE TRIP ​INCLUDES OUR DELICIOUS ALL YOU CAN EAT TACO BAR LUNCH! After a float and some drinks, there's nothing better than chowing down on an all you can eat taco bar lunch! This includes hard and soft shells, ground beef, shredded chicken, lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese, sour cream, rice, and chips & salsa!! Yummmmmmm.

It's only $93 to attend! Well actually $96.73 because there's a $3.73 processing fee per ticket that we have to pay. Also, the cost of our buses went up $7/person & lunch up $4/person, so we had to increase the price to cover that. Thankfully, it's still worth it for what will absolutely be the best day of your summer!

REGISTER FOR YOUR SPOTS HERE!!!

THE TRIP INCLUDES:

• Round trip coach bus transportation. We ride in super nice buses, aka way more expensive, but worth it! They've got bathrooms and TVs (to watch movies there/back!) for a higher level of comfort.
• Your personal float tube is included. Tubes that hold your cooler can be shared and purchased for $20 cash upon arrival. Each cooler tube can hold 2 large standard sized coolers so you can share with others.
• Lunch. Delicious ALL YOU CAN EAT taco bar when we get out of the river after floating.

The event in a nutshell:

• Show up to the bus with your own BYOB cooler and snacks.
• We drive ~2 hours into Indiana watching movies, then arrive at the river and float with Riverside Rentals.
• Grab our tubes and float/drink/chat/relax for ~3 hours.
• Get out of the river and chow down on all you can eat tacos.
• Board the bus and head back to sweet home Chicago!

The Schedule:
*All times are listed in Chicago time (Central Standard Time)

9:15 am SHARP - Buses Depart Chicago
(meet on the NW corner of Sheffield and Fullerton, you'll see big coach buses and we'll check you in)

12:00 pm - Buses arrive at the river and we float!

3:30 pm - Float ends at the tubing place, get out, eat lunch, freshen up and finish your drinks.

4:30-5:00 pm - Head back to Chicago
(drop off at the same place we started the day)

~6:30-7:00 pm - Arrive in Chicago

REGISTER FOR YOUR SPOTS HERE!!!

A COUPLE FINAL THINGS:

• You can leave anything you'd like on the bus while we're floating. They'll be locked and waiting for us right when we get out.
• No hard liquor allowed. No exceptions. No glass containers.
• Drinking alcohol isn't allowed on the bus rides.
• DO NOT sign up for this trip if you plan to get drunk. We will all get a nice buzz going on the trip but don't need anyone being irresponsible.
• This is a rain or shine event. That means if there is light or normal rain forecast we still go on the trip. If the rain is severe or there is potential for lightning, we of course will not go.
• Due to insurance underwriting limitations, only attendees up to the age of 59 are able to attend.

I look forward to enjoying the day with everyone! Please send me a message if you have any questions at all.

REGISTER FOR YOUR SPOTS HERE!!!

Cheers,
Ben

Skip the Small Talk: Make Friends, Not Small Talk

Wed, Aug 19 · 7:00 PM CDT

kibbitznest books, brews & blarney, Chicago, IL, US

###PLEASE NOTE: Even if you RSVP on Meetup, you will need to grab a ticket here https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com/store/skip-the-small-talk-night-at-kibbitznest-wednesday-august-19-2026 in order to attend### This event is cross-posted so Meetup RSVPs won't accurately reflect the actual number of attendees; typically there are around 30-40 people in attendance.

What's It Like?

Do you wish you could have more of the kinds of conversations you have late at night where for some reason, you feel safe talking about the things you actually care about?

Bring your friends (or come by yourself- most people do!) and spend your Wednesday night at an event where you know everyone else is there for the same reason.

We'll be offering 'big talk' conversational prompts on them to get you started, and we'll have lots of structure to make sure that you actually talk to people and that it's not awkward.

There will be food and drinks for sale!

Check-in for this event will begin around 6:45 pm. Please do your best to arrive before 7:00 pm so we can begin as close to on time as possible.

Skip the Small Talk is dedicated to providing an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone. Check out our safety policy here: tinyurl.com/ststSafety

Please see our event page for more accessibility info.

Ready to Skip the Small Talk With Us?

Grab a ticket since entry is on a first come first serve basis and we tend to sell out in advance for these-- once we are out of tickets, we will NOT be able to accommodate folks at the door.

Learn more about kibbitznest and their mission on their website here. If you want to be the first to hear about our events before we sell out, feel free to join our mailing list at Skip the Small Talk Mailing List Sign-Up

Be Active & Social this Fall! Join one of our fun, coed rec level league teams!

Sun, Aug 23 · 1:00 PM CDT

Leagues played at various locations in Chicago. See specific leagues for where the games are played!, Multiple Locations, Chicago, IL, US

This August & September, join us for a season of Simply Social fun! There's absolutely nothing better than participating in a recreational, all-skill levels welcome intramural league! It's so nice getting to know new people in a really laid back way over the length of a season, playing games and then over drinks at your walkable league sponsor bar afterwards with all teams.

We've got Kickball, 16" Softball, Beach Volleyball, Singles Skeeball (for singles!) and Family Feud Trivia. They're all a blast!

REGISTER TO JOIN US by yourself or with friends and get placed on a team for the season! Want to participate but can't make it to every game? No problem! We put extra players on every team for this very reason.

NOTE: I'VE GOT A LOT OF DIFFERENT FALL LEAGUES THAT RUN FROM AUGUST-OCTOBER AND PLAY SUNDAY-FRIDAY ALL OVER THE CITY! THE DATE AND LOCATION SHOWN FOR THIS MEETUP EVENT ARE JUST A PLACEHOLDER. CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE FOR THE FULL LEAGUE OPTIONS, DETAILS & TO REGISTER FOR A SUPER FUN SEASON!! https://s3leagues.com/fall-leagues

**Send me a DM if you have any questions and I'll get back to you right away!**

WHY JOIN S3 SIMPLY SOCIAL SPORTS LEAGUES?

I started S3 Leagues 16 years ago in an effort to create more social, welcoming leagues that focus on having fun and meeting new people. Since then, over 114,000 past players (yeah that many lol) have experienced what makes them so great and popular!

Hanging out with the same group week after week for 5-7 weeks makes it pretty effortless to build lasting relationships. That's the best part :)

ALL SKILL LEVELS ARE WELCOME, aka no experience required! Simply register by yourself or with friends and I'll put you with others around your age for the season. Then before we start I'll email EVERYTHING you need to know for the season including your teammate info, the full schedule, how/where we play and TONS more!

FULL DETAILS & REGISTRATION: https://s3leagues.com/fall-leagues

GET $20 OFF 16" SOFTBALL OR KICKBALL PLAYER FEES W/ PROMO CODE 'MEETUPHOOKUP' - PLAY FOR ONLY $45-75!

PLUS GIRLS GET 50% OFF 16" SOFTBALL - PLAY FOR ONLY $32-47!

Promo codes cannot be used for Beach Volleyball ($65-70), Singles Skeeball ($65) and Family Feud Trivia ($35) which are cheap for everyone.

IF YOU'VE GOT A FULL TEAM TO SIGN UP, EMAIL BEN@S3LEAGUES.COM (THAT'S ME!) TO REGISTER AND MAKE IT EVEN CHEAPER PER PLAYER!

I hope you let me show you what makes S3 Simply Social Sports Leagues so popular and exciting. I guarantee it'll be a unique experience unlike anything you've ever been a part of :)

Please send me a message if you have any questions!

Cheers,
Ben

Skip the Small Talk Night Online

Thu, Aug 27 · 6:00 PM CDT

·

Online

Online

###You'll need the event URL, so be sure to register in advance at https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com/store/skip-the-small-talk-night-online-thursday-august-27-2026 so we can send it to you. We'll send you an e-mail with the Zoom link a few minutes after you purchase a ticket (and we'll also send it again the day of the event)-- please check both your “spam” AND “junk” folders if you don't see it!###

You may expect this event to run from 7:00-8:15pm ET/ 6:00 - 7:15 pm CT/ 5:00 - 6:15 pm MT/ 4:00 - 5:15 pm PT. Please be aware of time zone differences.

These Zoom events are designed based in psychology research to give you all the warm fuzzy feelings of human closeness, without that feeling of Zoom-fatigue afterward.

We use question prompts and a structure designed based in psychology research to help you get vulnerable with strangers in a way that actually feels safe, and that brings out the best in people.

All our events are trauma-informed and facilitated by folks with therapeutic training. According to our surveys, a lot of our guests report feeling nervous about coming, but 100% of the people who say they were nervous also end up saying they were glad they came. There might be some selection bias going on, but we still think it's promising :)

We even had an academic paper come out about our online events showing that they improve mood and reduce loneliness! Check that out here.

What's it like?

The whole thing is on Zoom.

We'll put you into pairs in breakout rooms, and you'll switch partners so you're not just talking to the same person the whole night.

We'll give you question prompts to spark conversations to make sure you're getting the most out of your conversations.

Some examples of our research-backed prompts are, "What's something you're proud of that you don't usually get to share with people?" And, "What's something I would need to know about you in order to be friends with you?"

But if you hate our prompts, you'll always be invited to make up your own or talk about whatever feels right.

What do people say about it?

Here's some stuff people have told us (unprompted!) about the online Skip the Small Talks:

"I was surprised at how good this was! I'll definitely be coming back!"

"This has turned into my weekly self-care-- going to this event every week is something kind I do for myself to stay sane."

"I'm an introvert, and to be honest, I even think of myself as someone who generally hates other people, but I actually feel energized after Skip the Small Talk online. For some reason, I feel Zoom fatigue in pretty much every other online interaction, but I'm usually, like, giddy after these."

Ready to Skip the Small Talk with us?

You can grab a ticket here.

Please do your best to arrive a couple minutes before 7pm ET/ 6pm CT/ 5pm MT/ 4pm PT if you haven't been to one of these before so you don't miss the intro, but feel free to come late if you need to-- you'll still be able to participate just fine!

If you've come to an online Skip the Small Talk before and would rather skip the intro, feel free to come at 7:10 pm ET/ 6:10 CT/ 5:10 MT/ 4:10 PT.

Skip the Small Talk is dedicated to providing an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone. Check out our safety policy here.

Need accessibility accommodations?

Please see ticket page for more details.

Want to keep up with our events?

If you want to be the first to get access to tickets, and also get free exclusive content about how to improve your relationships, communicate more effectively, and more deeply, join our mailing list (don't worry, we hate mailing lists, too-- we only e-mail when we have something useful to tell you about, like new events).

If you are interested in buying Skip the Small Talk question prompt cards to use in your everyday life, you can check those out here

###FYI that Meetup might say that "you're going" if you RSVP as "going," but you'll need to sign up at https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com/store/skip-the-small-talk-night-online-thursday-august-27-2026

This event is being cross-posted, so the number of RSVPs shown won't accurately reflect the number actually attending.

Hope to have you there!