EVENT START-END | 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm ET
CHECK-IN BEGINS | 6:45 pm ET (Guests who are not in line to check in by 7:05 pm cannot be accommodated)
WHERE | McCarren Parkhouse, 855 Lorimer St, Brooklyn, NY 11222 (map)
AGE RANGE | 30-45: This event is centered on people ages 30-45, but we welcome guests a year or two outside of that range who would feel comfortable dating people in the above age group. If you are outside of this age range, don't worry-- we have a lot of other events on our calendar, including all-ages events, that might be a better fit!
FOOD/DRINKS | Delicious alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for sale! Please note there is a 1 drink minimum for this event, and you can check out the drink menu here. Feel free to bring outside food to the venue if you'd like - or arrive a bit early to grab a sandwich from Club Club! They close at 8pm, and you can check out the menu here.
PARKING / PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION | Accessible via public transportation. Limited street parking and parking garage nearby. When you arrive, enter McCarren Park at Lorimer and Nassau, and follow the concrete path to enter the main entrance which is opposite the baseball fields. We will be in the East Wing.
ACCESSIBILITY & OTHER VENUE DETAILS | Wheelchair accessible. There will be enough seating to accommodate all guests. Gender affirming restrooms will be available. For ASL and any other accommodations not listed, please see more info here.
COVID-19 PROCEDURES | Masking is optional, but recommended.

About This Event

Hear from real attendees in the videos at the bottom of the page!

Want to get off your dating apps and meet someone in real life, but where you don’t have to find out that every cute person at the party is unavailable? Do you think that IRL speed dating is generally awkward and weird? So do we. That’s why we’re putting a Skip the Small Talk twist on dating.

Skip the Small Talks are usually **NOT** for dating, but so many of y’all asked us for a dating event that we decided to make an exception!

We'll be offering "big talk" conversation prompts to get you started, and we'll have lots of structure to make sure that you actually talk to people and that it's not awkward. Not feeling like answering a particular question? No worries, we'll have plenty to choose from, like, "When are you the happiest?" and, "If you were going to become close friends with me, what would I need to know about you?" We'll give you ground rules to make sure you feel comfortable and safe sharing as much of yourself as possible while still feeling in complete control of how much you share.

There will be drinks for sale! There is a 1 drink minimum purchase for this event, so please keep that in mind.

Check-in for this event will begin around 6:45 pm. Please do your best to arrive before 7:00 pm so we can begin as close to on time as possible. Please note that there is an arrival cutoff, meaning that if you are not in line to check in before 7:05 pm, unfortunately, you will not be able to participate and we will not be able to offer refunds.

Skip the Small Talk is dedicated to providing an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone. Check out our safety policy here: Skip the Small Talk Safety Policy

Who Is This Event for?

You would probably have a good time at this event if all of the following are true of you:
- You are aged 30-45 (plus or minus a year or two is cool, too, and if you’re not in this age range, feel free to check out our other events).
- You are monogamous (polyamorous events are also often available— feel free to check out https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com/New York City!)
- You either feel a connection to the identity of “man” and you are interested in dating women, or you feel a connection to the identity of “woman” and you are interested in dating men. Gender nonconforming folks who feel connected to one of those genders in some way are absolutely welcome. (We also host other events to accommodate gender nonconforming folks who don’t feel a connection to the identity of “man” or “woman”).

If any of the above statements are NOT true of you, you might want to see if our other events are a better fit. We do our best to accommodate as many different demographics as possible given limited capacity for our speed-dating events, and we are always working to include more! Any suggestions for how we can be more inclusive? Please feel free to reach out to us at info@skipthesmalltalk.com.

This event is trans-inclusive. We do not tolerate transphobia at this or any of our events.

We can only accommodate a limited number of guests at this event, so please plan to grab a ticket as soon as you think you'd like to join us.

Want to Attend for Free?

We are proud to offer “Understudy Tickets” for free. If you "purchase" a free Understudy Ticket, you agree to show up to our event at or before 7:00 pm, check in, and wait until we assign everyone to their first table. If you are assigned to a table, that means you are welcome to participate in the entirety of the event for free! If you are not assigned to a table, it means we regrettably were not able to fit you in, and you are free to do what you’d like for the rest of the night (we recommend hanging at McCarren Parkhouse or exploring nearby, but you’re of course also welcome to head home if you’d like). We never know in advance how many Understudy Ticket holders we will be able to accommodate, but we prioritize who we let in based on who arrives first, so we recommend checking in with us early.

Ready to Skip the Small Talk With Us?

Grab a ticket since entry is on a first come first serve basis and we tend to sell out in advance for these-- once we are out of tickets, we will NOT be able to accommodate folks at the door.

Want to see what else is happening at McCarren Parkhouse? Feel free to check them out here!

If you want to be the first to hear about our events before we sell out, feel free to join our mailing list at Skip the Small Talk Mailing List Sign-Up.

See our Skip the Small Talk question prompt card deck (and buy your own if you want) here.

If you want to get more of a vibe of what our events are like, have a look at the videos below and check out our FAQ (which also covers stuff like our refund policy, arriving late, age range, and hiring us for corporate/ college/ private events).