Santa Barbara News-Press: Open Your Heart — Local Matchmaker to Host Lock and Key Singles Party

Guys, it may never be this easy to unlock your true love's heart. Men held the keys — literally — at the third Lock and Key Singles Party, held noon to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, 3300 Via Real, Carpinteria. The fee, $22 in advance and $32 at the door, included a drink, appetizers, valet parking and viewing of that day's two polo matches. The goal was to find a mate that fits.

Lisa Darsonval, owner of Santa Barbara Matchmaking, the business behind the party, said she would tell men attending the event: "I did all the work for you and got all the women. You just have to show up!" The dating coach laughed.

Meeting people, winning prizes

Even if the men and women didn't immediately see fireworks, at least they got a chance to win more than $2,000 worth of prizes. Every time a man opened a lock, both the man and woman turned in the key and lock for tickets for drawings for restaurant certificates, services at salons, a massage, jewelry, books, tarot readings and more. The man and woman then got a new key and lock and could meet other people.

The man or woman who turned in the most keys or locks won the Locksmith Award and free admission to two future Lock and Key Singles parties.

The first parties were attended by 30 people in October at EOS Lounge on Anacapa Street and 60 people in February at Kalyra By the Sea winery on State Street. Ms. Darsonval expected 120 people at Sunday's party. Typically people in their 30s to 50s attend the events, but adults of all ages are welcome. Ms. Darsonval managed registration on her website, www.lockandkeyevents.com/sb, so that it was an even split of women and men. (If too many women registered, she closed that part of the website until the men caught up.)

The nice thing is there's no fear of rejection, Ms. Darsonval said. "Nobody says, 'No, you can't try to unlock my lock!' It just doesn't happen. Everybody is there for the same reason (to meet people and win prizes)."

If a man and woman decided they weren't interested in each other, they simply parted ways after turning in their lock and key, Ms. Darsonval said. But it's possible to meet someone you like a lot, she said, adding that she knows of two couples who started dating after meeting each other at the parties.

"There was this one couple (in their 30s); they were so cute and obvious," Ms. Darsonval said. "For the two of them, it didn't matter that there were 50 people around them. They walked out, connected with each other, arm in arm. They were really adorable."

"Everybody loves the event," she added, referring to notes she had read on her company's Facebook page. She said the men typically need more encouragement to go to the parties than the women, but both genders are glad they're there. She said the key and lock are a good icebreaker and have inspired men to say funny pickup lines. (Keep them classy, guys, she advised.)

A party at the polo field

Sunday's party was among those presented nationally by Lock and Key Events. Ms. Darsonval signed a contract with the company to hold the Santa Barbara parties. She said Lock and Key Events, which normally recommends holding the events in bars and publicizes them on its website (www.lockandkeyevents.com), had never heard of one in a polo field.

"They said, 'Are you kidding me?'" Ms. Darsonval recalled. "I said, 'I know Santa Barbara; it's going to be popular.'"

The location came about after the polo club contacted Ms. Darsonval, who started Santa Barbara Matchmaking on Valentine's Day in 2012 and was trained during seminars held by Matchmakers Alliance, a national nonprofit. The club asked her if she could host monthly Meet the Matchmaker events at the polo matches as a means of attracting singles. She persuaded the club to let her hold the Lock and Key Singles Party there as a way of promoting the Meet the Matchmaker series, held the first Sunday of each month at the polo club, where she answered dating questions and oversaw a game for singles.

For now, she kept the details under lock and key. — Dave Mason, News-Press Staff Writer