A bar is great for a night out, but it's hard to get past small talk over loud music. A run club, a chorus or a game night gives you something to do together and the same faces every week, so by the third visit people know your name. Here are 115 LGBTQ+ clubs, leagues and regular nights in 16 cities, each with the month we last checked it was still running.
Third Tuesday of each month, 7–9pm (holidays can shift the date) Monthly
Next: Tue, Nov 17
Center on Halsted, 3656 N Halsted St (Lakeview/Northalsted)
Chicago's longest-running gay men's book group. It's free and open to all ages, and it reads gay-themed fiction and nonfiction. Drop in for one book or come every month.
Wednesday rehearsals 7:30–10pm during the season; joining requires an audition
Windy City Performing Arts, Lakeview (office at 3656 N Halsted St)
A tenor/bass chorus and one of the oldest LGBTQ+ choruses in the US, with holiday, spring and summer concerts. Auditions are welcoming, and you don't need to be a pro.
A casual, unstructured hangout for LGBTQIA+ folks who are sober or sober-curious. It's a social group, not a recovery program, so you can just come for tea and conversation.
Schedules are as each group gives them: monthly groups meet once a month, and seasonal leagues only in season. Times change, so check the group's own site before you go. Something wrong, or a group we're missing? Post in Friends & Community. Nobody pays to be listed.