For those who haven’t decided yet who will be their valentine, there’s still time to make a match.
Pre-Valentine’s Day speed dating will take place in Nanaimo, Courtenay and Victoria on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7-9, respectively, put on by Fresh Connections. The events are for single men and women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s, with a 50-plus round earlier in the evening and a 19-plus round at night.
Jess Potter, owner of Fresh Connections, said she started her business to create alternatives to the online dating scene, which she said can be an artificial way of determining if there’s a connection between two people. Potter said she attended a speed dating event when she was in her 20s and was immediately convinced of its merits.
“I was like, ‘this is the way to meet people,'” she said. “I know within five minutes whether or not I have a connection with this guy … You can do the flirty eyes, you can do the sarcasm and all the other things that you just can’t get online with messaging. I think that would kind of be the appeal, to get off the screens and connect face-to-face.”
Potter said more ladies than gents have signed up so far for the Nanaimo event, so she’s hoping more men will balance that out between now and Thursday. There will be tables for two set up, and every five to eight minutes the men will move to a new table.
“Then we’ll process all the matches and everyone will get their matches in time for Valentine’s Day,” Potter said.
The Nanaimo event Thursday is at the Green Olive, the Courtenay event is Friday at Mex Pub and the Victoria event is Saturday at Elements Casino.
Tickets cost $22.50, including hors d’oeuvres. The 50-plus speed dating starts at 6 p.m. and the 19-plus speed dating starts at 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.freshconnections.ca.
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