SpeedyQueers is trying to make it as easy as possible for queers to meet each other, and part of that is making it easier to talk and keep talking with people you met at an event. How many times have you gone to a queer event, had an amazing talk with a stranger, forgotten to get their name or socials, and never seen them again? Over the last year and a half of running in-person events, it's become clear that we want to meet each other, and we want to do so organically. Queers are more likely than our straight counterparts in every age category to use dating sites and apps, and aren't very likely to find a "lasting connection" that way. Dating apps have also gotten more and more expensive, while not really providing any more returns. SpeedyQueers is not about dating. It's about building community. We want to meet each other for all kinds of reasons - to make new friends, find roommates, activity partners, play partners, romance, polyam, collaboration, book clubs, writing groups, just to name a few - and it's easier to do that in person. When I was getting divorced, I realized that most of my queer friends were people I'd made out with at least once. I wanted to create a new space for queers to meet each other, and with the loving patronage of Under the Umbrella Bookstore, @SpeedyQueers was born! It began as a monthly event that blends speed dating and book club, and has evolved into something bigger, weirder, and ultimately, super queer. Help us grow it even more!