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Best Places To Meet New People In Los Angeles

Maybe it's time to meet some new friends by taking a break from online socializing, and by meeting up with other human beings in real life. In Los Angeles, you have to make an effort if you are interested in meeting new people. From your local coffee shop to game night at your favorite bar, there are worthwhile places to hang out that offer opportunities to say hello and make a friend.
lake hollywood park
(credit: Michael Gordon/shutterstock)

Lake Hollywood Park
3160 Canyon Lake Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90068
(818) 243-1145
www.laparks.org

Lake Hollywood Park draws a versatile group of people who are there, perhaps, to take a selfie with the iconic Hollywood sign in the background, spend an afternoon in the playground with their kids, and, to run around with "man's best friend." Lake Hollywood Park is known for its super-friendly environment. The large grass field offers just the right spot for pup parents to meet other people who also hold dogs close to their hearts. Clean and scenic with ample shade, it's one of the best spots for doggy playtime. Signs tell you to keep pups on a leash, and while you'll definitely see some off leash, note rangers will come through the area to enforce the park rules.

November Project™ Los Angeles
Griffith Observatory
2800 E. Observatory Road
Los Angeles, CA 90027
www.november-project.com

November Project, which was born in Boston as a free way to stay fit during winter, is offered in Los Angeles, and another ideal way to meet people. The November Project is a community that motivates, supports and offers an essential piece of socializing. Sign up to join for free. Select your home tribe, and your invitation to the next November Project workout will appear along with time, destination and a map. You never know who will show up - members range from professional and collegiate athletes, Olympic medalists, as well as fitness rookies. If you need to plan ahead, you can just show up at the Griffith Observatory on Wednesday mornings at 5:27 a.m. and 6:27 a.m.

LACMAJazz - VERIFIED - Kellie Fell - Sept 2016
(Credit: Museum Associates/LACMA )

LACMA Film Club
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 857-6010
www.lacma.org

It's always a bonus to meet like-minded people, and in this town film buffs are a dime a dozen. Passionate movie junkies unite at LACMA's Film Club. The membership-based club ($50/one year) bring people together to screenings of movies such as "A Star is Born," "The Wizard of Oz," "Presenting Lily Mars," "Easter Parade," "The Virgin Suicides," "Viva Zapata!,' "The Defiant Ones" and many more.

volunteer
(credit: wavebreakmedia/shutterstock)

Volunteer at Big Sunday
6111 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 549-9944
www.bigsunday.org

Volunteering alongside other people gives you yet another wonderful opportunity to make new friends, all while helping someone else. Come on -- how awesome is that? Big Sunday is a L.A. organization that makes positive impact among various communities that need extra assistance. It's easy to help out. Sign up for M@10 on Thursdays from 10 to 11:30 a.m. which invites volunteers to help with a weekly service project at the Big Sunday offices. You'll do everything including making sandwiches to assist My Friend's Place, assembling birthday gifts for folks in shelters, organizing blanket donations for preemies at Good Beginnings Hospital, writing letters to armed forces stationed overseas and compiling animal blankets for Michelson Found Animals.

brewery beer friends drinking alcohol
(credit: Shutterstock)
Prank
1100 S. Hope St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 493-4786
www.prankbar.com

While a bar seems like the more obvious place to meet people, unless the bar is packed with people every night, you don't really know what you're going to get on any random night. It's why Prank is reliable. Located at the corner of 11th and Hope St. near both Staples Center and Microsoft Theater, Prank is a number one hotspot for people to congregate and mingle before and after DTLA events. The bar offers terpene cocktails, non-GMO bar fare, al fresco bar and seating, live music and DJs (Thursday through Saturday), and a karaoke bar. Prank screams fun.

by Sheryl Craig
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