Taoism in Arizona

[sarabethv]

I'm in the greater Phoenix area far west area and I'm trying to get together a group of people who are like minded - tolerant paganish and taoist thinking. This is harder than it might seem as "meetup" requires money from an organizer.

Has anyone else heard of something like this in this area and if not anyone have any ideas on how to get one started without disposable income?

[Terra Mater]

I used to do a lot of gathers like this on a semi regular basis. At the start we would meet at public parks, local restaurants, the YMCA if someone had a membership, local libraries, etc. What you plan to do at your meetups kind of defines the place you need for it. Then a member with a knowledge of interesting places to meetup that do not cost an arm and a leg (or anything) can help. North Mountain Park is a good place for large meetups and the cost for reserving a ramada (as little as $30) can be spread out among the members. We did one meetup that drew 150 people, everyone pitched in a dollar which more than made up for the cost of the ramada rental.

Of course, it helps if your group isn't shy. Some people are too nervous (needlessly) about doing discussions in public, which can limit the number of attendees you get at an event. Hosting them in your home doesn't work too well, too many worries about who is coming in your door on your part, too many worries about whose door they are coming into on their parts.