Good conversation. Great company. One Thursday a month.

Making new friends as an adult can be surprisingly difficult.

Perhaps you're new to York and don't know many people yet.

Perhaps your friendship group has changed over the years.

Perhaps you work from home, live on your own, or simply find yourself thinking, "I'd quite like to go out tonight, but I don't really have anyone to go with."

That's exactly why we created the Raise Your Glass Social Club.

We meet in York on the fourth Thursday of every month for an evening of good conversation, great company and meeting new people.

And you're very welcome to come on your own.

In fact, that's rather the point.

What is the Social Club?

It's deliberately simple.

Once a month, we get together in a great local bar, grab a drink and talk about life, the universe and, frankly, anything.

No networking.

No lectures.

No awkward icebreakers.

No pressure to impress anyone.

Just a table full of friendly people and conversations that can go wherever they take us.

You might talk about travel, music, food, work, books, something happening in York, something you've discovered recently or a completely ridiculous question that somehow keeps everyone talking for half an hour.

We have a few Conversation Starters ready if we need them.

Usually, we don't need them for long.

A Community, Not Just an Event

Something lovely has started to happen since our first Social Club.

People have come back.

New people have joined.

And the conversations haven't stopped when we've left the bar.

Our members have been keeping in touch, sharing local events, recommending new music and drinks, and generally getting to know one another between our monthly gatherings.

That's exactly what we hoped might happen.

We're not trying to create another event you attend and forget about.

We're trying to create a welcoming local community you can become part of.

October will be our third gathering, and we'd love you to join us.

Coming on Your Own?

Please do.

You won't be the only one.

The Social Club was specifically designed to make it easier to meet people when you don't already have someone to go out with.

When you arrive, we'll welcome you, introduce you to some people and help you settle in.

There are no established cliques you need to break into and no expectation that you'll walk into a room and somehow start introducing yourself to strangers.

Come on your own. We'll take it from there.

Of course, if you'd rather bring a friend, they're very welcome too.

Your Ticket

Tickets are £10 per person.

And every penny goes into the evening's bar kitty.

Raise Your Glass doesn't make money from Social Club tickets. The kitty helps us support the brilliant local venues that give our community somewhere to meet, while making sure your ticket goes straight back into the evening.

Once the kitty is gone, simply buy any additional drinks from the bar as normal.

And despite the name, you absolutely don't have to drink alcohol.

Beer, wine, cocktails, alcohol-free drinks, soft drinks, coffee...

Whatever's in your glass is fine by us.

What Happens on the Night?

We'll be there from 7pm.

Arrive, grab a drink and we'll introduce you to some people.

From there, things are intentionally relaxed.

There might be one big conversation around the table or several smaller ones happening at once.

We'll occasionally throw in a Conversation Starter, make introductions and generally make sure nobody feels left out.

There's no assigned seating, forced participation or standing up in front of the room to introduce yourself.

Just come along and be yourself.

Who Is It For?

Anyone aged 18+ who'd like to meet some new people.

You might be new to York.

You might have lived here for twenty years.

You might be single, living alone, working from home, starting again somewhere new, looking to expand your social circle or simply curious about who else might turn up.

You don't need a particular background, job or interest.

You just need to be friendly, open-minded and willing to say hello.

What Happens Afterwards?

If you'd like to, you can join our Social Club WhatsApp community.

That's where the conversation continues between gatherings.

Members share recommendations, things happening around York, music they've discovered, interesting places and the occasional suggestion to get together.

There's no obligation to join.

But we rather like the idea that Social Club isn't something that only exists for a couple of hours on the fourth Thursday of each month.

Because ultimately, this isn't really about events.

It's about knowing people.

Join Us This October

If you've been thinking that you'd like to get out more, meet some new people or simply have an interesting evening with people you don't already know, give it a try.

You don't need to commit to anything.

You don't need to know anybody.

You don't even need to be particularly outgoing.

Just book a place and turn up.

We'll do the introductions.

Come on your own. Leave knowing people.

Raise Your Glass Social

Description supplied by the event organiser.