A singles’ soiree

TIRED of personal ads, Internet matchmaking and speed dating? How about Sexless in the City bashes? Every three months, Sam Mistrano and his friend Vicki Curry throw a roving singles party open to anyone in Los Angeles who wants to nudge fate in the search for the One.

Low-key and couple-free, Sexless in the City parties are meant for singles in their late 20s to late 30s who have not given up on romance and are willing to try untraditional methods of meeting new people.

“I definitely see a change in my friends. As we get older, we are doing more unconventional things to meet people,” said Curry, a 35-year-old TV news producer who lives in Venice. “In big cities like Los Angeles, people specifically move here to pursue certain things, so they are focused in a different direction than someone in middle America. In middle America, the conventional thing is to get a job and find a mate, get married and that sort of thing. Here the conventional ways of meeting, dating and mating aren’t the same.”

The parties, which began three years ago in a mini-castle that Mistrano rented in the Hollywood Hills, are now held in different Westside bars and have attracted 100 to 200 people, depending on the location.

Dates have been made -- and even some relationships have formed, motivating its two singleton hosts to keep the party going.

“We have our own area in the bar, and that forces you to mingle,” said Mistrano, 34, of Venice. “It’s not like speed dating. You’re not as self-conscious, but you’re still aware that you’re here to meet people.”

Mistrano and Curry spread the word about the free party through e-mail and their own friends.

People are encouraged to invite single friends. There are no rules; just show up and socialize.

“It works because there is always a feeling that somebody knows somebody and so people feel comfortable coming alone,” Curry said. “People know that Sam and I make an effort to introduce everybody, which is why we haven’t had a lot of success meeting someone to date, which is the ironic thing.”

“I feel a responsibility to be host, so I haven’t really had the time to meet people for dating,” Mistrano added. “But this time, you never know, it’s the night before Valentine’s Day.”

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Sexless in the City

What: Meet Your Valentine party.

When: Tonight, from 8 to midnight.

Where: Schatzi, 3110 Main St., Santa Monica.

Cost: Free.