The minis are traditionally held during the middle of the year as at this time of the year no one has the time to organise or attend due to the impending deadline of getting the displays running before Christmas.
You will see more focus towards organising meets after the season has passed and everyone has had time to take a breath.
One good way is to take a look at the members map and see who maybe close to you that you can go see, because now is the time to get a good picture of whats involved and how its done by actually seeing a setup that may be loacl to you. Networking between members is always a very advantageous thing when starting out.