Speed dating's back and it's come to Sudbury

Brigette Brunet, owner of Speed Date Sudbury, already has a boyfriend, but when she heard about a speed dating event in Toronto a family member had attended, she was impressed. Not as a way to find a new boyfriend, but as a great business idea.

“I hope to have a speed dating event twice a month, but until we have more people aware and interested we will hold one every six weeks,” Brunet told NorthernLife.ca.

It costs $25 to attend the event. People register with Brunet, who sorts everyone into age groups. The first event had two groups – females aged 40 to 48 who met males aged 42 to 50. The younger group was females aged 29 to 36 and males aged 28 to 36.

Brunet said everyone receives a dating card and a set of questions. The questions help daters learn as much about their partner as they can in the short time allotted them. At the end of the night, she takes the dating cards. If any daters share a mutual interest, she sends an email with their contact information.

From there, the ball is in their court.

In the future, Brunet plans on organizing events around specific interests or groups, such religious faith and professionals.

“It’s very effective and efficient,” Brunet said. “They have about 10 dates for five minutes each — they will know right away whether or not they are interested in that person.”

For Dan Lamoureux, 39, he found the opportunity to meet people in a different way far more appealing than the online dating scene.

“You have nothing to lose, you are guaranteed a good time,” he said.

He works in trades, primarily with men, so having an organized event where he can meet women works great for him.

“They can come back as many times as they like, but hopefully they find someone,” Brunet said. “I want to help people develop relationships, strong relationships that lead to marriage.”

Diane Poitras, 31, said she was glad she came out, despite her initial nervousness.

“I got to meet new people and the evening was very well organized,” she said. “I will definitely come back. I would rather do this format then online dating.”

To find out when the next speed dating event is schedule visit speeddatesudbury.com.