Over the superficiality of app culture?

Ready to connect with real people and talk about what truly matters?

Here’s your chance take a break from the apps and connect more openly and authentically with those both like-minded and different. After a long break, it’s returning to Tāmaki Makaurau this January!

You’ll have several encounters throughout the night. Each will be carefully guided, inviting you to be yourself, to communicate openly, and and explore multiples layers and flavours of connection. Come spark a new summer flame!

Authentic Dating welcomes all men, women & non-binary people aged 18+, both monogamous & non-monogamous. We will aim to pair you with a gender different from your own.

Is this event for me?

If you are seeking….

+  Deep & meaningful conversations without small talky chit-chat
+  Exciting new connections, both romantic & platonic
+  An opportunity to explore & challenge your assumptions
+  A substance-free environment
+  Playful & sincere communication activities
+  Skills you can apply to your dating life beyond the event
+  A space to simply be yourself

….then this event is for you!

What will actually happen?

You will be invited to explore four unique interactions, some of which are randomised and some of which you can choose. Each will involve a new set of instructions to help you communicate about topics that really matter to you.

Each interaction will last 10-15 minutes. At the end of each interaction, you will have the opportunity to share a contact detail on a piece of paper in a way that is both cute and discrete ~ please bring your own pen!

Consent is important: you always have the agency to choose how deep you go. You will never be forced to share information that you don’t want to.

Why are tickets sold by gender?

To ensure that the gender balance is as even as possible, it is important to keep track of how many men/women/non-binary people are signing up. If a particular gender is over-represented in the run-up to the event, we do our best to ensure that under-represented gender(s) also sign up.

While we aim to achieve an even balance of genders (and ages), this is not always possible. However, what is guaranteed are skills that you can apply to any connection. Simply come with an open mind and ready to connect.

The facilitator