What to know
- If swiping fatigue is real, Thursday Dating is offering another option: weekly mixers across Toronto where everyone in the room is single and there to meet people face-to-face.
- Co-organizers Felisha Liu and Ben Davis say traditional dating apps aren’t cutting it anymore. Their events draw roughly 200 attendees at a time, with a balanced gender split, and centre on being upfront about wanting a connection.
- From bowling nights to fitness-themed meetups (plus LGBTQ and 50+ editions), guests told Now Toronto they arrived open to whatever the night could bring — and in some cases, walked away with more than just a new contact.
Tired of endlessly texting on dating apps just to be catfished, ghosted or just not vibe with the person? Thursday Dating is changing how Torontonians meet at Thursday single mixers.
Dating in the city can be quite the challenge, so Thursday Dating steps in as Cupid by hosting singles-only events where singles can participate in an activity of their choice and meet new people, all at once.
In their website, Thursday Dating boldly shares, “F*ck dating apps,” and that they are an “IRL singles movement” and “#NotASh*ttySpeedDatingEvent.”
Organizers of this event, Felisha Liu and Ben Davis, elaborate that these weekly events are supposed to stand out from dating apps.
“The dating apps are literally dead,” Liu jokes. “We just want to create a space where people can meet people in real life.”
Read More
“We don’t want to do swiping or a superficial type of thing. So we really want to focus on real-life connections… We really want it to be like ‘Oh you’re a cute person at the bar, let me go talk to you,’” Liu said.
“When you’re at the bar, you lose the catfishing, you can learn about their personalities, not hidden behind a screen, and it really makes for a stronger connection,” Davis added.
What makes Thursday Dating’s Toronto branch is that it helps Torontonians date through intentional dating. Davis explains that everyone’s single, so there’s no doubt about anyone’s relationship status, and everyone’s looking for love.
Sahil, an attendee at the event, shared his intent to meet someone.
“Everyone feels like they’re kind of alone and they want to meet new people.” he explained to Now Toronto. “So I thought, it’s Valentine’s week, love is in the air. Let’s see what’s out there and what’s happening tonight.”
Another attendee, Nikhil, jokingly (or at least we think) stated he wants to go see Wuthering Heights and needs someone to go with. So he came to this event to scope the scene.
“Hoping to make a few connections and see how it goes,” he shared.
But for Catarina, this is her second time attending the event. Her first one was at the same venue for New Year’s, and she left with many friendships. In these sorts of events, she shares that her goal is to keep an open mind.
“I’m open to friendship, and if it turns into something more, then it will,” she said.
For her, friendship or partnership is a success because “it’s great to just be out and meeting new people,” Catarina added.
And that’s exactly what Davis emphasizes: the success rate is based on how much people have fun, too.
“Even if you don’t make a romantic connection, we see many platonic connections come from this, so it’s like a win-win. Obviously, the forefront is romance and love. And people are here for a good time, and are over the apps, right? They just want to find somebody in real life, and so they come in, they’re smiling, and they’re getting out there, so that’s also a success.”
But for another attendee, Dan, the event found him a potential partner, which made this experience “amazing,” he described.
“Best experience of my life,” he shared, walking us through his evening, which included bowling, and then started chatting with a girl about it. After some conversation, he learned they both speak French, which is pretty rare in Toronto.
Sadly, he won’t be spending Valentine’s Day with her, he regretfully shared, as he didn’t expect to find a love interest so soon and has a trip to Mexico planned. But his first course of action once returning is to take her on their first official date, which he says will be to play darts.
Liu shares that she often receives DMs from past attendees reading, ‘I met my person.’ She even jokes that she “[doesn’t] know what they do,” but that she also sees many single people leave with someone at the end of the night.
Thursday Dating hosts events every week, with an average of 200 people and a 50-50 gender ratio, so you can always meet someone new. They also have began more LGBTQ and 50+ events.
Events are also tailored to people’s interests and hobbies, such as fitness-themed events, theatre trips, or running clubs.
Liu mentions to dress as if “you’re meeting your soulmate because you never know who you’re gonna meet,” she joked, “If you come dressed in sweats, chances are you’re not gonna be as positive and as happy.”
Davis tells Torontonians to come with a positive mindset.
“You’re putting yourself out there, and it’s a first impression with every single person you meet.”
