Friend Finders

Not everyone is trolling the Web in search of a soul mate or a quick date. Some folks just want to link up with others who share similar interests and hobbies or to make new friends. Two years ago, Spokane resident Rachel Biggar was a stay-at-home mom looking to get out and socialize. The only obstacle? Finding someone to join her.

“I’d been at home so long I didn’t have anyone to go get coffee with,” said the 29-year-old mother of three. “I needed to reconnect.”

So Biggar signed up with MeetUp.com, a Web-based social networking tool that brings together like-minded people through dozens of local groups. There she found a bevy of hikers, dog lovers, Elvis impersonators, and lots of parenting groups – but no meet-ups dedicated to friendship and socializing.

“It was all ‘mommy-and-me,’ ” said Biggar, who opted to organize her own meet-up group, “Modern Girls,” after seeing a TV show based on women who share tips on everything from buying the right bra and choosing quality jewelry to practical advice on fitness and travel.

Today, Modern Girls boasts nearly 200 members — from 20-something singles to retired grandmothers — who meet every other weekend for some girl time. Biggar says most of the participants join after scanning MeetUp.com’s searchable database. Past Modern Girls meet-ups included fall and spring barrel-tastings, fondue parties, peach-picking at Green Bluff, picnics, potlucks and movies, among others.

Despite the group’s sizable membership, Biggar says the core hovers somewhere around 20 women. Among those is Biggar’s assistant organizer, Diana Crabtree, who joined after relocating from Grangeville, Idaho. The 26-year-old says she’s developed several friendships from the group through tennis, dog-walking and running.

“All of my friends I have now I’ve made from the Modern Girls,” Crabtree says.

Recently, Biggar and Crabtree added an educational element to their group, assigning areas of expertise to individual members in an effort to share knowledge and experience at meetings. They’re also considering charging a nominal fee to cover the cost of organizing the meet-up: Biggar pays $144 annually to MeetUp.com, which uses the money to administer and promote the site.

“We’re hoping it might discourage people from joining and then never attending,” Crabtree says.

Though most meet-up groups are founded on sharing common interests, not all of those interests are common. Like other mid-sized cities, Spokane counts the usual film buffs and political activists among its 75 meet-up groups, though less orthodox meet-ups populate the offerings.

In Priest River, just past the Village Kitchen restaurant, a group of self-described witches, wiccans, pagans and sorcerers regularly meets in a city park to share blessings and discuss their craft. During the July meeting, four members of the meet-up snacked on sandwich meat and provolone cheese, chips and sodas while talking about their lives. Organizer Patricia Wiser says she hopes the group will grow, but for now she’s content to meet with the group’s handful of members to share ideas and knowledge.

Wiser says the August meet-up will include a woodland hike and search for edible plants. She’s planning a visit to the local Forest Service ranger station to find flyers that illustrate edible flora.

“I think it will be fun and a good learning experience for all,” she said.

The Spokane area offers several meet-ups based on religion, though political groups and community associations comprise the bulk of the area’s offerings. Less common meet-ups include Pug lovers, Mac loyalists, even spelunkers, though Biggar said many of the smaller meet-ups are short-lived. As the organizer of a few now-defunct meet-ups, Biggar would know.

“I did a gardening one and soap-making,” she said, though one of her groups, a local “foodie” meet-up, continues to thrive.

Crabtree said the trick is keeping the subject broad enough to attract members and keep the group going.

“The obstacle is getting enough people to meet up,” she said, adding “soap-making is a pretty specialized group.”