\u201cPeople just love love and want to connect or are sick of dating apps,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just hit the ground running. Like it’s been insane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Janes started out with an event for people ages 25 to 35, but after the event\u2019s popularity she expanded to events for various age brackets, sexual orientations and different interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ticket prices vary, usually between $25 to $35. At the end of the event participants fill out a card and they are notified the next day if they get any matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The events are organized in typical speed dating fashion with structured mini-dates around five to seven minutes each, match cards and conversation prompts if needed. But some of the events have a twist like a salsa dancing lesson intro or an event where people can bring their dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI did one recently for people who like board games and gaming in general,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe’ve done them for men for men, women for women. I have a friendship event coming up. There’s just a huge, huge demand to connect in general.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The speed dating events have been selling out, but it hasn\u2019t always gone smoothly, like an ages 60 to 75 event back in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI had sold out women’s tickets and I had one men’s ticket sold,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I had to cancel that one, which I felt so bad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “I had one lady email and was like, \u2018I’m not going to say I’m not disappointed. I slept with the curlers in last night.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She hasn’t given up on a senior’s night and has an event planned for folks over 70. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Janes said the toughest demographic to get out to speed date has been men over 40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think for them, it’s a very new concept. And I think for the men, it needs to be a word of mouth thing,\u201d she said. \u201cThey maybe need someone else to go out for him and try it. But we’re finally now at a place where we’re not really struggling to get older men.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has only been around six months but there are already some success stories coming out of Janes\u2019 events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe did the East Kelowna Valentine’s Day market,\u201d she said. \u201cHalfway through the day there was a knock at my door and I opened it. And it was a couple who had met at one of my events saying \u2018I just wanted to stop and say hi, like let you know that we’re still together.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The challenges of dating apps are well-known: bare-bones profiles, endless swiping and often boring conversations with people who aren\u2019t serious about making a connection. Janes said the benefit of a speed dating event is the kind of person it attracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe people who are looking for something a little bit more genuine, got dressed up, showed up, paid to be there. So it always attracts a very nice person. So they’re always people who are really easy to talk to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Janes said she welcomes suggestions or requests from people who want to see a certain kind of event or they want her to come to their city in the Okanagan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I don’t know what’s going on in the trenches, as I call it. So it’s always really nice when people suggest like a certain age range they want to see or a certain city,” she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “There’s just a huge, huge demand to connect in general.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":547,"featured_media":8460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"","source":"","byline":"","published":"","updated":"","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1810,706,704],"tags":[],"region":[547,548,549,550],"class_list":["post-8459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-local","category-topnews","region-kamloops","region-kelowna","region-penticton","region-vernon"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8459\/kelowna-womans-speed-dating-business-helping-people-escape-dating-apps\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Kelowna woman’s speed dating business helping people escape dating apps","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8459\/kelowna-womans-speed-dating-business-helping-people-escape-dating-apps\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8459\/kelowna-womans-speed-dating-business-helping-people-escape-dating-apps\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-Screenshot-2026-05-08-at-3.39.16-PM.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-Screenshot-2026-05-08-at-3.39.16-PM.png"},"articleSection":"Featured","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jesse Tomas"}],"creator":["Jesse Tomas"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwine","logo":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/logo-inwine.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-05-11T11:00:00Z","datePublished":"2026-05-11T11:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T11:00:22Z"},"rendered":"![\"|\"](\"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-05-08-at-3.45.22-PM.png?w=1024\" "\\"|\\"")
FACEBOOK\/Speed Dating Kelowna<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n