Any club, bar or promoter can throw a party but it takes a special team to organize a party for singles. Sure you can hook up at the “meat markets” in Beijing bars. But when you are looking to have an actual conversation with interesting new people, those bars are the last place to go. We started organizing Speed Dating parties in 2007 for a group of friends complaining about the singles scene in Beijing. It was a social experiment and it was a success. We enjoyed the experience so much that we continued to hold them on a monthly basis.
Since 2007 Fishbowl Events has expanded to other singles events. Speed Dating promoters have come and gone throughout the years. Fishbowl Events is the only Speed Dating company that has withstood time as the English speaking population continues to grow and change in Beijing. One reason is that the founders have a very hands on role in the company. Ola and Allison personally respond to every email inquiry and reservation made. We attend every party and therefore have met each and every one of our guests. No other match making company can say this.
This is not the only thing that differentiates us. We truly enjoy the experience of organizing Singles events. We, the founders, promised each other we would only organize as long as it continued to be fun. The people we meet make this experience fun. We organize because we love the look on our guests’ faces as they arrive apprehensive and nervous, but leave laughing with a group of new friends. We continue to organize when we hear stories of people meeting at our events and dating after. We organize for the stories of long term friendships formed. And we continue to organize because this project was created by the imagination and excitement of two best friends. No other match making company can say the same.
Attend a Fishbowl Events and you too will see, a lot more goes into it than simply choosing a date and venue.
Fishbowl Events was formed by Allison Johnson and Ola Zdzarska with the common vision of creating social opportunities for people from different backgrounds to mix and mingle. We exist to help build and fortify your social networks. The majority of our clientele lives in Beijing, but are transplants from other cities, creating a unique mix of foreign expats and local Chinese.
We began our experience in 2007 when we formed “The Speedating Specialists”. The success of these events encouraged us to design new and more interesting occasions to socialize. The increasing demand for a new social mecca among Beijing’s young professional community has brought us together once again to collaborate and create events where you can enjoy the fabulous nightlife that Beijing has to offer.
The Organizers
Ola Zdzarska has a master’s degree in Journalism and Politics Sciences and a bachelor’s degree in Ethnology and Culture Anthropology. Her university studies and thesis allowed her to work with many people from different cultural and social backgrounds. Additionally, Ola used to be on the former Polish President Lech Walesa’s secretarial staff, where she liaison with business clients. Meeting new people and networking is second nature to her. Ola’s hobbies include listening to the life stories of people she meets. She has lived and worked in Beijing for 5 years.
Allison Johnson, the daughter of a psychologist, studied International Conflict Resolution at the University of California, Berkeley. She wrote her Honors thesis on Race Relations in the United States and is a certified Conflict Mediator. She has lived in Beijing for 6 years during which she worked at as Marketing Executive for an international law firm. Her professional experience gave her extensive experience in organizing a variety of events. Personally, she has always loved bringing together friends of different backgrounds to meet and interact. Running Fishbowl events gives her the opportunity to observe human interaction and chemistry.