Rye Playland event aims for singles over 50 to find love connections
Laura Labriola co-founded Kelebrate because she said dating apps don't cater to people over the age of 50.
An event in Rye Playland Thursday night aimed for singles over the age of 50 to make love connection the old fashion way.
Love can be hard to find and using dating apps can be even harder, especially after a divorce. It's something Kelebrate co-founder Laura Labriola unfortunately knows too well.
"I have been divorced quite a while now, I am 54 years old," Labriola said.
Labriola was 24 when she met her now ex-husband organically at a party. They divorced seven years ago, which sometimes brought her to the dating apps.
"I dabbled in it, I go on and then I have a bad experience, and I go off, and then I go back on, and then I go back off," she explained .
Labriola said it does not feel like they cater to her age bracket, plus that is not how people in her generation are used to meeting.
According to Similarweb data, Tinder, one of the most popular dating apps, has just over 30% of their audience falling in the 25 to 34 age category. When it comes to the 55 to 64 age category, that percentage drops down to only 7%.
It's not like the need isn't out there.
The divorce rate for first marriages is close to 50% and the average age of divorce is 46 for men and 44 for women.
Seeing this need, Labriola and her co-founders decided to fill it by launching Kelebrate, a singles networking event for people over 40. The event brings those singles into a room together.
"Meeting someone in person, you're getting a feel for their personality, for their values as opposed to a photo of what they look like which is so superficial and not all the photographs are real so," she said.
The launch event happened at Rye Playland's famous Tiki Bar, which brought over 50 singles.
"The horror stories I hear, you don't get to meet the person prior to dating, and that's what we are doing here," said Kelebrate co-founder Peter Kelly.
The event held was sponsored by Westchester Brands and founded by Westchester residents.
If you missed Thursday night's event, Kelebrate will have more events in the future. You can find all of that information including a waitlist on Kelebrate's website.
