I was looking through my old answers to find something that I had written a few years ago that I thought might be appropriate in a current thread, when I stumbled across this old thread.
I still think it applies. Sure, there are big conferences like RootsTech, but not everybody has money for things like hotels, plane fare, etc. So I still think that local get-togethers for genealogists who live near one another could be fun and helpful. (Maybe pick a coffee shop right near a cemetery, library, archive, or something similar? )