Seeing celebrities in person is a great opportunity to understand them better as individuals and the only way to learn how to calm a spooked limousine. Strengthen your bond with supersized cars with today’s Groupon: for $19, you get a one-year basic membership to the Hudson Union Society (a $150 value).

An eclectic mix of distinguished luminaries descends from the starry heights of celebrity to engage with people from across the social spectrum via the Hudson Union Society’s robust lineup of speaking events, film premieres, and A-list celebrity mixers. Parked at the intersection of the capitol beltway and Hollywood’s red-carpet highways, the Society invites trailblazers from the fields of entertainment, government, business, and science to share their perspectives in an intimate setting, encouraging a style of discourse rarely found in America since Benjamin Franklin invented cable news. A nonpartisan approach and a reputation for fostering independent viewpoints allows the Society to be picky in its process of selecting upcoming guests and speakers, some of whom currently include Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, former governor Howard Dean, and journalist Tom Brokaw.

A one-year membership permits exclusive access to a bevy of free and reduced-rate speaker events, mixers, and galas at select locations across Manhattan, such as the Russian Tea Room. Other notable events include live musical performances and parliamentary-style debates, without the frequent wig-powdering breaks that stymie most parliamentary bodies. A free yearlong subscription to Forbes magazine will help members augment the events’ fat-free smorgasbord of knowledge with a regular stream of international business news.