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A worldwide singles society is making its first stop in Salinas this weekend to provide bachelors and bachelorettes relief from the proverbial bar scene.
On Saturday, the Bay Area-based Society of Single Professionals, the self-proclaimed largest nonprofit singles organization in the world, will hold an event in Oldtown Salinas in an effort to spark romance and friendship among the city's unattached.The mixer, to be held at
Hullaballoo Restaurant, is a response to demand from Salinas residents who attended the group's singles events in Monterey and Pacific Grove, said Rich Gosse, chairman of the society and a prolific author on the topics of enjoying or escaping single life.
"A lot of Salinas people were coming to our events," said Gosse, whose group holds more than 150 similar events a year in the Bay Area, and several more worldwide. "I'm fulfilling my promise to them."
The Salinas event is the last of the group's weekend tour in the Monterey Bay Area, which makes stops in Pacific Grove and Santa Cruz this evening and Saturday afternoon.
Gosse said the Salinas mixer will include a game in which all attendees will meet all other attendees, akin to "speed dating" but without the pressure.
"You can also meet a lot of platonic friends, in addition to potential romantic encounters," said Gosse, who has been involved with the society for 28 years and used to teach dating classes at Monterey Peninsula College.
The event is an open mixer in a region where social mixers usually are limited to the membership of a group, such as the Salinas Jaycees or the Central Coast Young Farmers and Ranchers. Similar events also exist for the area's seniors.
For those unsure whether the mixer scene is for them, Gosse offered some insight that has been shared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, in decades of media interviews and eight books he's authored on the topic of single life.
"The thing about single people is that they're social animals," he said. "Human beings aren't meant to be alone. Just because they're single doesn't mean they want to be alone."
It could be said that he's not just a member of his group, but also a client.
"I met my wife, Debbie, at one of these singles parties eight years ago," Gosse said.
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