On Friday, July 30th, Kickstarter will host meet-ups in five cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Chicago. Each will be hosted by a member of the Kickstarter team: Portland will be hosted by our own Andy Baio and Lance Ivy, Chicago will be hosted by cofounder Charles Adler, San Francisco will be hosted by creator Robin Sloan, Los Angeles will be hosted by me, and New York will feature the rest of the Kickstarter crew.

To organize these events we’re using a tool called Meetup Everywhere, which allows anyone to create an event. So if you’d like to organize your own local Kickstarter gathering that night, you can. Just visit this page to add your event (if you do you’ll also be responsible for picking a place and doing some mild organization — drop us a line if you have questions).

The goal here is simple: people get together, have some drinks, and swap ideas and inspiration. Whether you’ve launched a project, backed a project, or are just interested in figuring out what this whole thing is about, you are more than welcome.

We’ll be updating with specifics in the coming week, so stay tuned. If you’re interested in finding out more, hosting your own, or helping out, let us know. Thanks!