If there is one common complaint among dating app users, it’s that “dating” often seems relegated to interactions within the app. More often than not, endless in-app messages lead to more in-app messages, with no real date to show for all the effort. But now, there is one dating app taking matters into its own hands. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Coffee Meets Bagel is launching CMB Experiences to help users connect in the real world. These Experiences promise to be “unique, real-world events and spaces where people can go offline and engage in a fun, novel, delightful experience together.” And it’s all going to start with a sleepaway camp.
It’s called Camp Meets Bagel, and it’s an “all-inclusive sleepaway camp for adults” that will take place from Thursday, May 10, to Sunday, May 13. Curiously, that is right over Mother’s Day, but we’re sure mom will understand if you miss her special day in the name of finding love via an app (or in this case, a grownup camp).
In total, CMB expects around 300 eager love-seekers to congregate at a camp in the Adirondacks in the aptly named town of Paradox, New York. To keep you even more in suspense, CMB isn’t even revealing the name of said camp! From there, they will be able to experience what the dating app is calling a “fun-filled weekend with land and water sports, arts ‘n crafts activities, epic nightly theme parties, an open bar, delicious meals, and more.” And even if you don’t find the love of your life, you may find a best friend with activities meant to “foster friendship and connections,” like group color wars and a totally safe-sounding trust fall on a giant swing at a ropes course.
Of course, CMB had a bit of help planning what truly sounds like a raucous and thoroughly entertaining weekend — the app partnered with Camp No Counselors, the camp for adults, in order to put on the programming. Tickets, which were initially slated to be on sale for $675 per person, have now been increased by $20 to $695 (really, what’s $20 when true love is at stake) and include all the activities for the weekend as well as complimentary transportation to and from the camp — or at least, to and from the camp from New York City.
“Coffee Meets Bagel’s mission is to enable authentic connections for this generation, and we believe that includes going beyond the online world to do so,” co-founder and chief operating officer Dawoon Kang said in a statement. “We want to create real-life opportunities for people to meet and share a common experience together, which often serves as a doorway to a lasting relationship.”
While this camp will certainly be the first Experience offered by CMB at such a large scale, it’s not the first time that the app has facilitated in-person interactions among users. On February 11, CMB hosted the Run Date Festival in Hong Kong, a 5-kilometer run for singles that attracted more than 1,300 people. After all, what better way to tell if your mate is here to stay than having him or her see you at your sweatiest and messiest as a first impression? In addition to the run, the event also featured a number of pair activities, and was meant to benefit three nonprofits — Pink Alliance, HKADA, and Help Me See.
If you’re unable to make Camp Meets Bagel, don’t worry — CMB promises that additional Experiences will be made available throughout the year.
Update: The price of Camp Meets Bagel has already increased by $20.
