Joomla User Groups (JUGs) are one of the best ways to get involved in the Joomla community without eye strain. Meetings can take various formats and includes members from developers and  administrators, to those who only know how add an article.

I recently asked the members of the JUG Leaders mailing list for their biggest moment of the year. Anything from the pub running out of beer, gate crashing a droopy event by mistake (heavens forbid- but it happened).

Matthew said the JUG highlights from Cape Town were "organising a very successful Joomla Day in Cape Town, with almost 100 people.. and several visitors from countries overseas... this is definitely top of the list. Regular JUG meetings in Cape Town, which is doing very well and we are getting good feedback. Seeing Joomla being used more and more in South Africa. It's definitely picking up traction... "

While we did ask for the 2011 events, this one was too good a nostalgia trip to not include Andrew from JUG South Western Ontario (JUG SWO), "Greatest moment - for me, unquestionably: http://cartanova.ca/green-business-blog/item/97-joomla-user-group-southwest-ontario Cider, donuts, classic computers and the largest video game collection in Canada. Made for a fun night. :)"

Others include "getting dragged into a popvox with a mouthful of food"

The one thing we are waiting for is the wedding between two members who met through the JUG. If you have a comment/quote or embarrassing story (pictures are best) from a JUG meeting, please tell us.

If you do not know where your local JUG is, then visit https://community.joomla.org/user-groups.html

To start a JUG if there isn't one near you, follow this easy checklist: https://community.joomla.org/user-group-approval-checklist.html

We also give you added extras like the JUG leaders dedicated email group, a registered Joomla user group logo to place on your site, and an entry in the https://community.joomla.org/connect.html joomlaconnect newsfeed and an informal chat and question area at http://people.joomla.org/groups/viewgroup/568-JUG+Team.html

Other major benefits inlcude getting commercial extensions for testing and review for free. JUGs are going through some exciting changes, along with an increasing vision with the release of the latest versions, so see where yours is, or start one today.