We’ve already established that dating in Tulsa has its unique challenges. Maybe that’s why 20-ish people between the approximate ages of 25 and 40 showed up for CallMeCupid’s LGBTQ+ speed dating and matchmaking event at Good Cause Brewing last Friday.
Dani Roper founded CallMeCupid Tulsa a few months ago because, as she says, people are tired of dating apps. She wants to make dating fun again. This project combines her background in event planning with intentional matchmaking.
The bar seating was nearly full when I arrived, and the empty chairs along the perimeter of the taproom were filling up. It was still quiet for a bar, though, and I was too nervous to talk to anyone before the official start time. That familiar brewery smell—yeasty, a little cloying—lingered in the air. I ordered a blood orange seltzer and tried to guess who else was here to speed date for the first time. A rainbow Pride flag with the words “ABIDE NO HATRED” hung on a wall inside.
Cory Ross, the night’s host, had a gift for getting a room's attention. After telling us how to sign in, he laid down some ground rules: Be kind to one another, try not to talk about politics, and do not swap contact information during the dates. I scribbled "Kathryn" and "she/her" on a name tag and wondered what exactly I’d signed up for.
To loosen us up, Ross asked a series of icebreaker questions, like:
Is it OK to judge someone solely on their taste in music?
Have you ever ghosted someone?