We All Need Community—These Social Clubs Could Help You Find Yours
Does the idea of joining a run club make your knees shake? Want to learn a skill, but can’t commit to classes? Just looking for a creative, niche, nerdy or queer club where you can meet new people?
Social clubs and meetups are taking off all over Melbourne: grassroots and community-led spaces for finding like-minded folks over shared curiosity (and, because it’s Melbourne, often a good meal). Whether you want to cook or eat, play or compete, get up and dance, sit and read or just wander outside and gaze at nature, these are the best clubs to get out of the house and into some hobbies, all while making some new friends.
Bookatini
Image credit: Bookatini | Instagram
Keen to devour a good book? Touted as “the book club for pasta-lovers”, Bookatini runs monthly events combining Melbourne’s love of good food and literature. The intimate homestyle book club dinner has three courses, 12 guests and one book for discussion, hosted by Bootakini creator Rachel Furulo. The larger Supper Series is held at restaurants with groups of about 20, and the cocktail-style Aperitivo events in local bookshops with drinks and snacks. They also host book launches, meet-the-author events and book swaps. A feast for the mind, tastebuds and soul.
Acid Chess Club
Image credit: Acid Chess Club Thursdays | Instagram
Ready to make some moves? We’re in our chess era, and Acid Chess Club is one of the coolest inclusive meetups in town. It’s free, and first-come-first-served at the signup sheets. If you’re a beginner, start with the Learn & Play ‘chill nights’ on the third-last Thursday of the month at Runner Up rooftop bar, with quick, friendly games where you switch players and connect with other newbies. When you’ve got the hang of it, the Chill, Hectic and Open comps run last Thursday of the month, with prizes like posters, wine and more. And in true Melbourne fashion, there'll be DJ sets, drinks and delicious food.
Moondrop Mahjong Club
Image credit: Moondrop | Instagram
A social gaming club in a bar backroom? Even cooler than it sounds. Shanghai-inspired Moondrop cocktail bar hosts weekly Sunday sessions of Mahjong, the four-player tile-based game. Never played mahjong? Not a problem. The meetup starts with a Q&A session for newbies, with roving teachers helping once the games begin. A ticket gets you access to the gaming den, and bar-redeemable tokens to bet with. There’s one winner per game per table, they collect a token from the other three players who then play Paper, Scissors, Rock to see who leaves to let someone else in (don’t worry, you’re added to a list to jump back in later). Players stay fresh and the game keeps going, with music, Tsingtao beers and Moondrop cocktails into the night.
Disco Rodeo
Image credit: Disco Rodeo | Instagram
Whether you call it line-dancing or bootscooting, we say these Country & Western moves are taking off in Melbourne. Disco Rodeo runs weekly sessions around the city. On Wednesdays, scoot over to the Thornbury Theatre. Fridays are for the Fitzroy Bowls Club. On Sundays, head to Moondog Wild West in Footscray. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never pulled on a pair of cowboy boots in your life, all are welcome, from absolute beginners to seasoned scooters. The team will take take you through the moves and get you light on your feet in no time. Call it community, call it a cult (they do), it’s a hoot and a holler and a great way to make new friends.
Club DVD
Image credit: Club DVD | Instagram
Love the cinema, but want more connection than sitting quietly in a dark room? Club DVD is the monthly movie club showing lesser-known, cult or otherwise underappreciated cinema. Curated by three film buffs, Dayna, Rory and Bailee, there’s no set formula for what gets shown, but the format can vary. Some sessions have ‘breakout groups’, helping you make new connections with fellow film-lovers, with discussion questions to soften up the crowd.
“It’s based on our own personal taste of films that we personally love and want to share with people,” Dayna says. “Or films we think are an important piece of history or speak politically to what’s going on in the world… Or sometimes we pull from our audience selection list.”
Past venues include bars like Milney’s and Theory Bar as well as Eclipse Cinema.
Book Doof
Image credit: Book Doof | Instagram
One for introverts. Book Doof is a doof with a difference: a crowded room where no one talks, ambient music plays and for a few hours you can just read silently and unwind. Think of it as reading alone, together. Stick your nose in a book (BYO or borrow one from the team) and stay as long as you like. You don’t even have to read the whole time: sketch, sew, scribble, anything you like that’s quiet and chilled out. Afterwards you can chat and find out about the strangers who shared this special space with you. Or you can leave, calm and filled with stories, and carry on happier. The team has hosted book doofs in bars, libraries and even at Revolver. It’s mostly free and walk-in only, except for the occasional ticketed fundraising events.
Better Now Cookbook Club
Image credit: Better Now Bakes | Instagram
Flex your chef skills with a plant-based potluck. Better Now Cookbook Club is run by Jai, owner of vegan micro-bakery Better Now Bakes. Each month, a different vegan or vegetarian cookbook guides the menu. Whether you already have a copy, buy it (Jai gives a heads up about discount outlets where possible) or borrow from the library, just flip through and pick something you’re keen to make and share. Grab a ticket, shoot Jai a message with your recipe (to prevent double ups), then gather, share the feast and discuss. Did you like the book? Was it easy or challenging? How about the portion sizes? And does it, in fact, look like the pictures? You don’t have to be a seasoned cook—you just have to be keen to give it a go.
Melbourne Queer Birders Collective
Birding is absolutely taking off across social media. It’s not enough to touch grass—we have to stare at as many cool birds as possible. Melbourne Queer Birders Collective (MQBC) brings the LGBTQIA+ community together over a shared avian curiosity and love of quiet nature. They run regular bird walks in different areas of Melbourne, like Sherbrooke Forest down south, Jawbone Reserve Jawbone Reserve out west and Yarra Bend in the east. Stay tuned on Instagram for event announcements, register online, grab the binoculars and get birding.
Club Sup
Image credit: Club Sup | Instagram
Running in multiple Australian cities and London, Club Sup has been a runaway success, showing how hungry people are for meaningful connection (and great food). Their signature Supper Club offers intimate private dining where you have the chance to meet strangers over a multi-course, shared dinner and wine, before mingling and making new friends. The more relaxed iteration, Pub Sup, takes things to a local venue for a no-frills hangout. For the literary-minded, join one of the book clubs or book swaps. Step away from the screen, start a conversation and find a new connection.
No Typewriters, No Talking
Image credit: No Typewriters, No Talking | Instagram
Got a novel in you? Have the heart of a poet? Want to take up journaling but can’t seem to make the time? Find your focus and let creativity flow in a no-talking writing session with wordsmiths of all ages. No Typewriters, No Talking is a cosy writers group that meets up around Melbourne. As the name suggests, participants enter a chat-free zone with pens and paper, laptops, basically anything that isn’t the dreaded clacking of a typewriter. They give you a prompt (if you’d like) and you write in silence for an hour. Once you’ve attended a session, you’re part of the community and can contribute your writing to their own publication, Patter.
Pony Club Kino
See films differently at a queer, community-focused gym-hosted cinema. Pony Club Gym is Preston’s queer and trans-owned gym that’s welcoming to all, and Pony Club Kino is the free monthly movie night created by gym members Corey, Jess and Joey. It’s all the fun of a slumber party without the actual sleepover. Films tend towards the queer in some manner, like 1999’s But I’m a Cheerleader! or anything that subverts the norm, but keep an eye on their socials to see what's up next. You can brings snacks, drinks, friends, even a pillow and blanket if that's your preferred movie seating. From time to time, they may have an option to donate to a fundraising cause on the night. It’s kindness, community and cute little meetups all in one.
Read My Blurb
Image credit: Read My Blurb | Instagram
Now in its new digs at Soft Focus House, Read My Blurb is a monthly social book club (and occasional book swap) for lovers of the written word and delicious snacks. The fully catered three hour gathering starts with a little mingling, grabbing a wine or non alc and a nibble, then splitting into groups with strangers and discussing the questions for that month’s book. Each group focuses on something different, like a theme or characters, and after 30 minutes you switch. Eat, drink, discuss—perfect.
Main image credit: Acid Chess Club and Runner Up Bar | Instagram