Winnipeg singles trade dating apps for PowerPoints at new pitch-style event

Ashna Zaman, right, pitches her friend Xinyue Ma during a Meet Cute dating event in Vancouver, on Sunday, March 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

An upcoming dating event calls on single Winnipeggers to trade up DM slides for PowerPoint slides.

The event called “Date my Mate” is billed as an opportunity for single Winnipeggers to outsource their love lives to their funniest friend.

The concept – a friend makes a PowerPoint presentation about an eligible bachelor or bachelorette in their life, listing their lore, green flags, weird habits and more.

The friend then presents their slideshow to a bar full of singles and their mates, all while the star of the slideshow sits nearby in the throne of honour, taking in the limelight as they are pitched.

After all the presentations are finished, folks can mingle and flirt with those whose presentations they connected with.

The event was spearheaded by Jensen Maxwell and Rob Knaggs, the wedding photographer-DJ duo that heads up Wildest Dreams Wedding Co.

“In our line of work, we have seen a lot of the end of people’s dating cycles with their weddings,” Maxwell told CTV News.

“Both of us have been in the wedding industry for 10 years, and we kind of thought, ‘Why not start these cycles too?’”

The concept, however, is not their own.

Similar pitch-centric events have gained popularity with singles in cities across the country and around the world.

Maxwell and Knaggs thought the concept would be similarly embraced by Winnipeg mates and date-seekers, alike.

Turns out, they were correct.

Tickets for those pitching and being pitched sold out quickly, and general attendee tickets are expected to follow suit.

Maxwell believes the event’s success shows just how tired folks are of the endless monotony of dating apps.

“You sit there and you scroll on an app. You’re swiping left or right. It all gets pretty redundant,” she said.

“People are looking for a way to connect in really fun ways and really unique ways, something that’s really different. It’s a way to get in front of people in a really personal way that still feels really upbeat and fun.”

The first “Date my Mate” is slated for May 15 at Little Brown Jug. It is open to singles who are 23 to 35 years old.

Given its popularity and a flurry of requests, Maxwell plans to offer more iterations down the road for singles in different age ranges.

While it would be nice to photograph the wedding of a couple who first connected at one of her “Date my Mate” events, Maxwell has slightly more realistic hopes.

“Overall, what we’re hoping for is just to create a space to build connection between people. I think if we see some relationships or some dinner plans come out of it, that would be amazing.”