Online to IRL
Steal someone's Tinder match at the Chaotic Singles Party coming to Austin
Summer is on its way out, which means it’s time to start thinking about cuffing season (or, at the very least, have one last summer fling). Look no further for your next date night: Take your online date out on the town at Tinder's Chaotic Singles Party ($15-$55) on August 18.
Inn Cahoots will host “Tinder’s meet-cute experience” with an hour-long line dancing class for $27 with admission; a great opportunity to meet a boot-scootin’ cutie. That's followed by the Chaotic Singles Party, an event series where everyone brings a date they met online and lets the dating madness unfold.
There will be some optional icebreakers and games to encourage mingling and all-day drink specials. You can buy a 2-for-1 ticket for $15 for you and your Tinder date — or your most down single friend. Single tickets at the door cost $25.
Cassidy Davis hosted the first Chaotic Singles Party on Valentine’s Day in Los Angeles in 2022. She asked her friends to invite online dates to a house party, and invited 65 Tinder matches herself. After the TikTok she uploaded cataloging the party went viral and media coverage followed, she hosted the party again a couple of weeks later, and 500 singles showed up. The phenomenon has now grown to cities nationwide, and a partnership with Tinder as part of its
An event that bridges the gap between online dating and gathering in a room full of fellow singles is a specific answer to a recent trend of people turning away from dating apps. Gen Z in particular is ditching the apps in favor of IRL singles events, and speed dating parties surged 63% year-over-year in 2023, according to Eventbrite. Match Group (which owns Tinder, Match.com, OkCupid, Hinge, and other dating apps) and Bumble’s market value has dropped by $40 billion since 2021.
Now, more singles are taking to the streets to find their next match. Speed dating events like Hidden Gems, We Met at Alamo, and those hosted by the Austin Independent Book Fair have popped up all over Austin.
This event is part of Tinder's Single Summer Series. The app, which is used by 50 million people per month in 190 countries, created itSingle Summer Series in response to some of these dating trends, as well as its own data. Four out of 10 young singles said they recently split from a partner, or were planning to, in order to be single for the summer months. Plus, 58% of young singles prefer to meet matches in group settings, and 52% are interested in events that bring singles together.
If you’re among this majority, you could find yourself in a sea of singles ready to mingle this weekend. And in case you can’t make this hoedown (or your nickname is Mr. Worldwide), Tinder is hosting more upcoming events in Brooklyn, Nashville, and Miami.