As you are reading these words, your unconscious mind is starting to become eerily aware of how much fun you'll have when you attend the Single De Mayo Fiesta, and you may feel compelled to buy your tickets immediately! : )
IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT...
I arrive early at the Harborside Lounge, show my ID and open the door... Immediately I hear the mariachi band playing a festive, energetic song. As I step inside I spot them playing in the back and I can see the piñata hanging overhead. I wonder what's in it and if I'll be the one who wins it...
I check in at the table, meet and greet the organizers and get my Ice Breaker card. That's when I notice how good the food smells. So I go grab my favorite drink from the bar before making my way to the food and getting a taste of the different dips and salsas. Mmmm.... Fresh and tasty!
I read my Ice Breaker Card and find the first person I want to talk to. I ask my question first and the other person answers. Then they ask me their question. Then we swap cards and ask the questions to each other again.
Once we've each answered, we find other people we want to meet and repeat the process, making sure we trade cards each time so we always have a different question to ask. After a few conversations, I stop and find myself thinking about how much of a good time I'm having and how excited I am to meet all of these new and happy faces!
At 9 PM, the mariachi band wraps up and Matthew W. gets on the mic to start the Singles Games portion of the event. He says we're doing a different take on speed dating and that they’ve added a twist to cut out the fluff.
I imagine regular speed dating for a second, where 6-10 men and 6-10 women sit down with each other for a few minutes. When the time expires, participants switch places and move about the room until everyone has had a chance to meet one another. Dating cards are filled out and at the end of the night you secretly select who you’d like to talk to again. "BORING!" I think...
Matthew W. says we’ll each have a chance to talk but we'll have no idea how long. He says it could be 5 minutes, or it could be 20 seconds.
"You better not waste time with work and college! You better be interesting and show 'em what you got!" I think to myself. And finally he says that at the end we'll be able to go back to whoever caught our eye and invite them to the bar for a drink.
He starts the game and we all find someone to talk to. Occasionally he blows his whistle and we all find new partners to meet and talk to. After a little while we're out of time and we can find that someone to get a drink with while Matt and Matthew get right into the next game.
Next they're playing “The Mexican Dating Game”. Before the start of this game, 8 people have been chosen to participate. The people who were selected filled out a quick questionnaire so they can introduced. Those of us who aren’t part of the game get to relax and watch!
In this game, one woman is chosen and will be given 3 men to choose from. The woman and men are hidden from each others’ view and the woman asks scripted questions to each of her potential matches from a long list, and she can choose ones ranging from life values, hobbies, special talents, and even a few raunchy ones to spice it up! She’ll have to make her final decision solely on the men's personalities.
Types of example questions are:
If you were to take me out on a date, where would you take me? If you could have dinner with anyone alive or dead, who would it be? Make an animal noise Tell me a funny joke How would you describe yourself in the bedroom? After the woman's round is the mans round. He also goes through the same process of questions. After the woman and man have asked each of their potential matches several questions, they get to choose who they want to meet! Complimentary drinks for the new pairs to give them a chance to get to know one another.
I can't believe it's time for Salsa lessons now! The salsa instructor takes over the microphone and begins to get the lesson organized by asking everyone interested in the lesson to come onto the dance floor. Everyone gets into rows to learn and the instructor begins to teach the steps. Everyone follows behind the instructors lead.
Several dance steps are taught and learned until we begin to become more fluent and can move with the rhythm. Everyone is getting into it and the group is starting to move well to the music. Before I know it, we're all dancing to the songs and our bodies are fluent with the salsa beats.
Once the sals instructor is done with the group dancing lesson, it's time for the group to see if we can take up the challenge and retain what we learned by dancing with each other for the next bit of the night. Switching partners gives us the chance to meet even more happy new faces.
Eventually, the salsa dancing dies down and looking around there are a lot of smiling faces and talking to each other. New connections have been made and I'm watching things bloom right in front of my eyes.
It's time now for the final portion of the night. DJ Phoenix starts playing the best Top 40 Dance hits, and will until the end of the fiesta for those that want to dance the rest of the night away. Requests are welcome and he is more than happy to accomodate all of our personal favorites.
