Minutes to Mingle: Keene New Hampshire Speed Dating

For some, dating can be stressful and scary. Dating apps can have old profile photos, fake profiles or even married people being untruthful. Tina Selig, of Pre-Dating Speed Dating, grew up in Keene and landed in the Boston and New York area running speed dating events for singles. She has seen a lot of success for couples with her events and decided to bring the event to Keene while she was visiting family. "I felt like it was good to bring it to Keene because it was different. I want to be able to help people find their match and I have had three weddings happen with couples that I have paired up," explained Selig. When it comes to speed dating, the host does most of the work. All you have to do is sign up and show up. "We will be introducing roughly 12 to 14 singles based on their age group and being local. We facilitate everything. They get a table number when they arrive the day of, and then about five minutes before the event starts, I will go over everything with them," Selig said. The great thing about a speed dating event is that you know everyone you are meeting and talking to is single and interested in finding a match. "We will go over the dos and don'ts of having a conversation — such as no politics and don't talk about your exes — we want this to be a positive event." Every six minutes there will be a buzzer, and the men will rotate to the next table while the women stay sitting. "This will be just like going on 12 first dates, but only within a couple of hours. You will know in 30 seconds if there is a spark." Keene New Hampshire Speed Dating will be held at Frogg Brewing in Swanzey on Sunday, June 2. Singles ages 40 to 59 will be at 2 p.m. and singles ages 20 to 39 will be at 4 p.m. Selig encourages people to sign up in advance, but if there is room, she will allow people at the door. Tickets to the event are $16 per person. "In New York we charge $32 per person, but for the Keene event we dropped the rate so that everyone can get to experience their first time." If you have ever wondered what to wear to a speed dating event, Selig suggests dressing up as if you were going to a job interview. "You will be meeting lots of new people and it would give a good impression if you are a little more dressed up and take care of yourself. I have seen people come in casual attire, but I have also seen men come in with nice blazers too." During the event, singles will be taking notes for every date and putting a checkmark on "yes," or "no thank you." After the event is over, Selig will go through each card, match everybody up and send an email to each individual with their results, within 24 hours. "A lot of the time it's about 70 to 80 percent of double matching." "Once they get the email, I tell them not to be shy and that either one of them can reach out to the other," Selig explained. "Sometimes people really do feel nervous putting themselves out there. I have some people sit out in the parking lot before the event and they finally come in and say they almost didn't come in and they are so glad they did. It is so casual that even if you don't find your match at that specific event, don't give up. There is absolutely no pressure. It's more about fun and socializing and getting to know people." Selig also hosts Lock and Key events which are more of a mixer. Women will get a lock and the men get all the keys and they walk around and introduce themselves and see if their keys fit in the locks. "People talk and match and mingle for a good two hours. I think I am probably going to bring that event to Keene for the end of the summer," added Selig. Pre-Dating Speed Dating is the oldest and largest speed dating company, now in 70-plus cities. For more information about them or other singles events visit pre-dating.com; lockandkeyevents.com. Frogg Brewing is located at 580 Sawyers Crossing Road, Swanzey. For more information, froggbrewing.com; 547-7639.