As Seen in TALLAHASSEE.com: Singles in the capital have plenty of chances to meet
by Amanda Nalley
The number of single adults in the United States has reached 110 million, according to the “It’s Just Lunch” Web site, a national dating service that gets singles together for lunch dates. And though the group hasn’t made it to Tallahassee, the local singles scene offers its fair share of dating groups and games from church ministries to online forums.
“There is a certain age group that is beyond going to the night club,” said Felina Martin, 39, event planner and proprietor of Tallahassee’s Lock and Key events, another national dating service. “We are so busy. You don’t have a lot of time to play around.”
Martin is hosting her third Tallahassee-based Lock and Key event from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday at Lee’s Wine Bar. The event inspires singles to mingle by giving women a lock, men a key and making them find their match.
While not all Lock and Key events are geared to a certain age, this one is specifically for those 30-plus, which benefits singles such as 64-year-old Judy Clark. “Finding eligible men to date at this time in my life is not easy,” Clark said. “I think a great deal has to do with your age because our town is full of a lot of young people.”
Martin says event attendees typically range in age from 22-49 and most are professionals looking for anything from a date to a serious relationship.
But Lock and Key isn’t the only trick in the bag for Tallahassee singles.
The 46-person strong Tallahassee Singles Mingle Meetup Group at Meetup.com also hosts events weekly. On Friday the group will meet at Tallahassee AMC for a movie at 7 p.m. followed by drinks at Fusion.
Martin, who divorced in 2008, also is the organizer of that group, and she has other plans for Tallahassee singles as well.
“I approach dating as an entrepreneur,” Martin said. “We’ve given them a tool. If you don’t take advantage of it, it is on you.”
“The singles scene in Tallahassee is good but it is the same circles,” local DJ Greg Tish said about how the size of the town makes it difficult sometimes to meet new people. Tish started a Facebook page for Tallahassee singles called My Single Friends in Tallahassee.
But Martin says Tallahassee has a lot more going for it in regards to the singles scene than singles specific groups. Social networking groups such as Tallahassee Network of Young Professionals and churches with ministries geared toward singles are other opportunities to meet.
“We’ve had a singles ministry for as long as I can remember,” said Josh Hall, young adults’ minister at First Baptist Church of Tallahassee. “We provide an opportunity for them to come together and find community. It’s a way to get to know who they are without that pressure of the blind date.” As for the best way to meet a mate? Martin says it is about staying active. “If a man comes along while I’m at poetry night, so be it. I do things. What better way to meet them
Visit lockandkeyevents.com/TAL for more information or to sign up.
Contact reporter Amanda Nalley at (850) 599-2299 or abnalley@tallahassee.com