As a grad student, I LOVED to attend seminars and conferences, both to listen and to present. Now, I frequently attend NoCoNet, a Monday morning networking group in Fort Collins that started with laid off  HP workers and has expanded to cover a huge array of talented unemployed and underemployed and self employed or retired volunteering folks. The Program Team makes sure there are activities and speakers and ways to get to the point where you're buying donuts for the group to celebrate your new position. The Employer Liaison Team puts on two Job Fairs a year -- next one coming up on April 23 -- and is Free.