Ideas for socials??

So we've just started the Chess Society at uni and I'm in charge of organizing socials for the year. We've planned it so that we'll be playing chess every other week and in the weeks between we'll be doing a social. Except I have no idea where to start because going to the pub every two weeks might get boring a repetitive and because we've only just started as a society I don't know what kind of things people will want to do, and we won't have any members until the freshers fayre in September, so I can't exactly ask them either. So has anyone got any ideas of things to do that don't necessarily involve going out drinking?

Hello,

How about renting some of those giant chess pieces and playing outside in the park with picnic. Get some new non chess people involved. Still it might be water-chess with the weather we are having.

I've just had a quick look at that but it looks like hiring giant chess would be quite expensive

Oh disapointing. Perhaps some you could make yourself. Which again could be an activity in of itself. Or even play human chess.

Human chess sounds good, that would be good for when the weather is nice, we'll be playing in the evenings and we won't be starting the society properly until September, but human chess is a good start