Gregg Skinner, 32, dentist, tried a picnic in Central Park sponsored by Social Circles, a membership club that schedules weeknight and weekend activities.

"It's pretty difficult to find someone you can connect with in New York. When I was younger, I'd go to clubs, but that's not my thing anymore.

I'd rather meet women in a laid back environment now. I was nervous about going to an event by myself, but that faded quickly. There were around 30 people there - an even split between men and women - and everyone was very friendly. The Company screens prospective members, which seemed to make a difference. It was a conservative crowd, very uptown. Professionals in their late 20s and 30s who are over the bar scene.

Everyone just hung out drinking wine and eating. The picnic started at 7, and we ended up staying in the park until about 10:30. I expected a real singles scene, but it was more like a club, where you can make friends first and then if you're attracted to someone you can see them at another Social Circles function.

It's a pretty low-pressure method for meeting people, but its definitely not the way to find a one-night stand - you'd probably run into the person the next week at a different event! It's better as a way to find people that have the same interests as you, because the activities range from winetasting to skydiving. It's sort of like camp for adults.

For someone who's ready for a long-term relationship or just going out and doing interesting activities, it seemed ideal - it was just a good group of people having fun."