Founded by Kent Crosland the company held its inaugural event in August of 2003.

List of frequently asked questions:

1. What is the Urban Mixer?
2. How Did It Start?
3. What Types of Events Are Offered?
4. Are All The Events in The City Listed?
   
5. What Does the Membership Look Like?
6. Is This Group Just for Singles?
7. How Big Is The Group?
8. How Do I Sign Up?
9. Are There Costs Involved?
10. Sponsorship / Advertising
11. How Does One Pay for the Events?
12. I'm New, What Do You Suggest for My First Event?
13. How Do I Contact an Urban Mixer Member?
14. Can Urban Mixer Participate in Our Fundraiser?
15. Who are the Organizers?
16. Will All Emails Receive Responses?
17. AOL Users
    

What is Urban Mixer?

Urban Mixer is a social organization. Its mission is threefold: 1) Plan engaging, interactive events that people enjoy. 2) Provide a fun, friendly environment for young urban professionals to meet. 3) Disseminate information about events occurring in the city.

How Did It Start?

Urban Mixer was founded in August of 2003 by Kent Crosland with the support of friends. The group noticed that, with each subsequent year put between them and the university days of old, it became more difficult to meet people with whom they could connect. Bars certainly no longer worked. Collectively they tried meeting people online as well as a number of contrived social events like speed dating. Both were a great way to meet people but neither focused on the types of people they wanted to be meeting: fun, active, professional people in Vancouver. Thus, Urban Mixer was launched.

What Types of Events Are Offered?

New events are being added all the time. The goal is be as creative as possible. Currently, there are cocktail parties, speed dating events, dinner outings, wine tastings, brunches, movie nights, ski trips, and theme parties (Mardi Gras, Halloween and New Year's Eve). Most of the time the events are open to everyone. The idea is to be experimental ...offer outings that are popular and also that are a little unusual and/or experimental.

We also have the most comprehensive list of events in the city. Dial up our calendar and choose anything from a black-tie gala to a speed dating event (if you're single) happening in the foreseeable future. We even pick an event for every day of the week to make it easy for you!

Are All The Events in The City Listed?

We try to be as comprehensive as possible by establishing relationships with the event promoters in town, by scouring hundreds of web sites weekly and by keeping our ears to the ground. In some cases, we're also invited to exclusive events which may not be listed on the site. The only way to find out about these special events is to participate and get to know your host.

What Does the Membership Look Like?

The demographic is people in their mid-20's to mid-to-late 40's, there are also people in the group who are younger and older than this range. Probably the best way of explaining the group is that they're interesting, intelligent, savvy and friendly people. All who enjoy meeting new people and socializing with those they know. Some have re-located here for a professional opportunity, others have been here awhile but enjoy going out, trying out new hotspots (bars, restaurants, etc.) and expanding their social circle.

Is This Group Just for Singles?

No. The Urban Mixer is focused on no-agenda mingling and is open to everyone (friends, co-workers, girlfriends, boyfriends, partners, married couples, significant others, the unattached - essentially anyone who's a professional and likes to come to the events). The main idea is to meet fun people and make new friends. If you're bright, interesting, friendly and like to have fun, you'll fit right in!

How Big Is The Group?

The membership consists of over 11,000 people (June, 2006). Over 50-75 new people add themselves to the list each month. It's constantly growing.

How Do I Sign Up?

Membership is free. Enter your e-mail address in the mailing list sign up box on the right hand side of any page on the site. You'll automatically be added to the master email list. You should start receiving the newsletters and invites right away. You could receive up to three emails a week, a weekly newsletter, a mid-week update, and a giveaway every two to three weeks - if you find it's too many, you can email us and ask to reduce the amount of emails to the weekly newsletter only.

Are There Costs Involved?

Urban Mixer is committed to keeping the membership free. To do this, we support ourselves with the events and most importantly, through the support of our sponsors. This is why there are ads on the Web site and emails, and why you'll see products highlighted at our events. We know ads aren't always fun to see, but our sponsors are the "fuel" that keeps Urban Mixer going. It may not be super apparent but there are ongoing costs behind Urban Mixer including Web host fees, computer hardware (different parts have expired over the years), use of a list server, software, yearly business licenses (federal, provincial), insurance..to name a few. So please, if you like Urban Mixer...support Urban Mixer sponsors! - they'll support Urban Mixer and in turn Urban Mixer can continue offering more and more events... and keep the membership free!

Sponsorship / Advertising

Speaking of sponsorship ...if you're interested in learning more about how to become an Urban Mixer sponsor and what it entails, we'd be more than happy to talk with you! Please email us.

How Does One Pay for the Events?

For most events that are organized by the Urban Mixer, you can pay online with your credit card via our RSVP system,  or with cash at the door. We also accept cash and cheque in advance of the event. Typically, it's less costly to pay online and in advance than at the door.

I'm a Newcomer, What Do You Suggest for My First Event?

You are welcome to any event. In most cases, the host will know that you're a newcomer and he or she shall make every effort to get you introduced to the people in the room on a one-on-one basis so you feel more comfortable at the event.

How Do I Contact an Urban Mixer Member?

Often people meet at an Urban Mixer event and think only later to have asked them for their contact info. In order to ensure members their privacy, Urban Mixer can not give out emails or phone numbers of other members. However we will be happy to tell the other member that you'd like to connect and let the contact go from there. You never know when someone who you met at an event would like to connect with you!

Can Urban Mixer Participate in Our Fundraiser?

We get asked this a lot and we want to help! We would be happy to discuss your fundraiser with you and determine on a one-off basis if it fits with our current member base.

Who are the Organizers?

For the first six months, it was just Kent. But as the list grew, more organizers have been added to the mix to keep up with all the ever-expanding list of events. Kent attends events when he is in town and in most cases, you'll most likely see Raj Taneja or one of the illustrious Urban Mixer host(esse)s at the event.

Will All Emails Receive Responses?

At this point, Urban Mixer receives numerous emails on a daily basis! We would love to return a thoughtful response to each one but there are just so many and the ones concerning an upcoming event or a payment must receive precedence. We do want to hear what you think! - your suggestions and feedback are the most important way that Urban Mixer can create quality events and make improvements where needed. Please just keep in mind that not every email can get a response...at least at this time. And it's okay to send an email twice as a reminder!

AOL, Hotmail, Canada.com Users

Unfortunately AOL, Hotmail and Canada.com users may not receive the Urban Mixer emails. AOL, Hotmail and Canada.com interprets our messages as Spam. We've had extensive conversations with the above providers but to no avail. We're currently looking into alternative solutions, In the meantime, we suggest using a Gmail  account. They're free and they receive Urban Mixer emails with no problem. We'll let you know when we find a fix for this.