09
Apr
2002
It's shorter than a one-night stand - well, it should be, anyway - but it's not like that at all.
"You're committed to them for seven minutes, and that's it," said Susan Esser.
What Esser is describing is Seven-Minute Dating, a service she started a year ago to help singles meet each other with little commitment. Over the course of an evening, participants spend seven minutes each with 10 to 14 members of the opposite sex within five years of their age.
A total of 1,700 people have signed up for the service since it started in April 2001, and Esser said Seven-Minute Dating has introduced four couples that have become engaged and one that's gotten married. Women and men also make new friends, and not just of the opposite sex.
Seven-Minute Dating has proved so popular that people who sign up typically have to wait at least six weeks for a slot in one of the weekly sessions. "I know I need to add an extra night here," Esser said.
To celebrate its anniversary, the service is holding a one-year anniversary party on Friday, April 12, at the Danceland Ballroom at 501 West Fourth Street in Davenport. The 7 p.m. event is geared toward "past, present, and future speed-daters" and includes music by Strange Neighbors, hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, The Dating Game, and a massive game of Twister.
Women arrive at Seven-Minute Dating sessions at the Novel Café at 7 p.m., and the men follow at 7:15. (Each Friday group is selected so that each participant's age is within five years of everybody else's.) At 7:30, the dates start, with men rotating until they've met each of the women. "You can give your number to them," Esser said, "but you can't ask for anybody's number." People who are shy can tell Esser in whom they're interested, and she'll pass along the information.
The service is popular, she said, because it takes place in a safe environment, and participants don't have to worry about wasting an entire evening with a bum date. The time frame is so compact that people tend to be more genuine, Esser said. "People are on the same page," she said. "They're being real."
While lots of people between the ages of 35 and 45 have signed up, it's been difficult to attract men over the age of 45, she said. But once they're in the door, Esser said, they're frequently hooked: "I've had people come back four, five, or six times."
For more information on Seven-Minute Dating, visit (http://www.7minuteyenta.com), e-mail (sevenminyenta@yahoo.com), or call (563)355-7644. People interested in registering should call or e-mail with name, age, and telephone number. Each session costs $20.
Tickets to the one-year anniversary party cost $20 and are available at The Novel Café in the Bettendorf Public Library or by calling (563)355-7644.
A total of 1,700 people have signed up for the service since it started in April 2001, and Esser said Seven-Minute Dating has introduced four couples that have become engaged and one that's gotten married. Women and men also make new friends, and not just of the opposite sex.
Seven-Minute Dating has proved so popular that people who sign up typically have to wait at least six weeks for a slot in one of the weekly sessions. "I know I need to add an extra night here," Esser said.
To celebrate its anniversary, the service is holding a one-year anniversary party on Friday, April 12, at the Danceland Ballroom at 501 West Fourth Street in Davenport. The 7 p.m. event is geared toward "past, present, and future speed-daters" and includes music by Strange Neighbors, hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, The Dating Game, and a massive game of Twister.
Women arrive at Seven-Minute Dating sessions at the Novel Café at 7 p.m., and the men follow at 7:15. (Each Friday group is selected so that each participant's age is within five years of everybody else's.) At 7:30, the dates start, with men rotating until they've met each of the women. "You can give your number to them," Esser said, "but you can't ask for anybody's number." People who are shy can tell Esser in whom they're interested, and she'll pass along the information.
The service is popular, she said, because it takes place in a safe environment, and participants don't have to worry about wasting an entire evening with a bum date. The time frame is so compact that people tend to be more genuine, Esser said. "People are on the same page," she said. "They're being real."
While lots of people between the ages of 35 and 45 have signed up, it's been difficult to attract men over the age of 45, she said. But once they're in the door, Esser said, they're frequently hooked: "I've had people come back four, five, or six times."
For more information on Seven-Minute Dating, visit (http://www.7minuteyenta.com), e-mail (sevenminyenta@yahoo.com), or call (563)355-7644. People interested in registering should call or e-mail with name, age, and telephone number. Each session costs $20.
Tickets to the one-year anniversary party cost $20 and are available at The Novel Café in the Bettendorf Public Library or by calling (563)355-7644.
