KC has an LGBTQ+ "Shark Tank" for relationships
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The average night at "Where to Find Us." Photo: Courtesy of Tania Olah
Imagine your best friend taking the stage in front of hundreds of people, slideshow ready, to pitch you as the city's most eligible single. That's a typical evening at a "Where to Find Us" event.
Why it matters: Co-founders Lo Mchel and Tiffany Watts started the show in 2024 to build a dating space for the LGBTQ+ community, not just one that lets them in.
How it works: The person pitching gets three to five minutes and a slideshow to sell you to a roomful of singles, walking the crowd through your highlights, your quirks and the case for why you're worth a shot. Pray they picked the good photos.
- The nine to 10 pitches at each event cover the basics, like green flags, what you're looking for and the deal-breakers.
- Anyone can pitch you; some have been hyped up by their parents or exes, but you can also pitch yourself.
- Pitches for friendships are welcome alongside romantic ones.
Pitchers can fill out an online application here.
What to expect: Attendees wear color-coded wristbands so there's no guesswork: green for single, red for taken, pink for allies, purple for polyamorous, etc.
- Drag queens perform, and "jam breaks" between pitches push the crowd to dance, mingle and meet the people who were just pitched.
What they're saying: Watts and Mchel say the show often turns into a "butterfly effect," where attendees first cross paths at "Where to Find Us," run into each other at another LGBTQ+ event weeks later and show back up as a couple.
- "Every time we hear, 'Thank you for creating this,' we kind of look at each other, and we're filled with love and excitement," Watts tells Axios.
- Mchel added, "It's this constant reminder that we are building something that people don't just want, but they enjoy, they love."
Case in point: One regular, Amy, came to her first "Where to Find Us" in February 2025. She went home, got divorced, came out and hasn't missed an event since.
- "To be a part of her story, especially her coming out story, that brought me to tears," Watts tells Axios.
What's next: The next KC show is May 21 at Parlor.
- "Where to Find Us" is also going on tour this summer with stops in Austin, St. Louis and Chicago.