Now, the unique dating experience is setting its sights on Denver's Generation X singles.
On Tuesday, March 4, Pitch-a-Friend will host an event exclusively for people aged 44 to sixty; the event at Vesper Lounge will be the program's first generation-specific effort in Colorado. Friends will give five-minute slideshow presentations on behalf of the singles, aiming to sell them as prospective romantic partners to a room full of strangers. After the pitches, audience members can chat up the bachelors/bachelorettes during a mingling session.
"We're trying to create a space where people feel relaxed and comfortable and have the best opportunity for a romantic connection," says Amanda Borowski, the Denver chapter host for Pitch-a-Friend.
Pitch-a-Friend events are open to all singles ages 21 and up, but the majority of participants are between 25 and 35 years old. Borowski says many older singles have emailed asking if they should sign up, or wondering if they'll end up in a room of twenty-somethings.
Six people have already registered to present pitches at the Gen X event before Pitch-a-Friend has even started promoting it. Between seven and twelve singles are presented at each event, with the overflow added to a waitlist.
"If we have enough interest, we can keep this going," Borowski says. "Denver has such a large group of people that are willing to do this. We can have a lot of fun with it. ...There are a lot of ideas about how we can hone it."
Borowski is considering hosting future Pitch-a-Friends for single parents, dog owners and other generations. She's already held functions for members of the LGBTQ+ community, with three more scheduled in the coming weeks. (Outside of the romance realm, she's also working on a Pitch-a-Pet event to help animals at local shelters get adopted.)
Pitch-a-Friend has brought its dating experiment to more than four dozen cities since it started in Philadelphia in 2022, including spots in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Canada. But Denver has taken it to more than other locations.
In the two months since Pitch-a-Friend launched in Colorado, the group has held five events in the Denver metro area and scheduled eleven more through April. Presentation slots for each event have filled up within two weeks of being announced, Borowski says, with 104 people signing up in total. The city's first Pitch-a-Friend at Vesper Lounge had a line out the door and a packed audience standing shoulder-to-shoulder to watch the PowerPoints.
"It's been non-stop ever since," Borowski says. "It’s been out of control. Compared to other cities, Denver has just taken off. ...It seems like we're one of the fastest-growing cities. A lot of other cities struggle with finding venues and having people sign up. I have not had that problem at all. It's been the opposite."
In addition to collaborating with Denver's Cupid and Sofar Sounds, Borowski says Pitch-a-Friend is using attendee suggestions to make the Denver events better. The upcoming functions will feature walk-out songs for each single being pitched, a prize for the best pitch as voted on by audience members, and bingo icebreakers before the presentations.
Denver's dismal dating scene is a well-documented phenomenon (Westword has covered the issue extensively). But Borowski says the city's warm reception for Pitch-a-Friend reflects highly on the future of dating in the city.
"People have been really brave in trying out this new thing," she adds. "People are looking for ways to connect outside of dating apps, and I think it really speaks volumes to how fun Denver's singles are.”
Pitch-a-Friend, 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, Vesper Lounge, 233 East Seventh Avenue; admission is free. Learn more here.
