THE STAR - Feb 15 - Andrea Lo is the founder of Toronto Dating Hub. "It's like being at a virtual pub or house party," she explains. "You can talk as a larger group but also in smaller groups and individually." Lo moderates the conversations with icebreaker questions. Toronto Dating Hub is just one of many online dating operations that are hosting virtual events for singles. While Matt Paoli first started Flare Events as an in-person speed dating company in February 2020, he quickly pivoted to virtual during the pandemic. Since then, he's been organizing three to four online speed-dating events per month. Flare hosts its speed-dating events through Zoom. They typically have 10 to 14 participants and begin with a half-hour icebreaker conversation. Then the host puts participants into breakout rooms for eight-minute, one-on-one chats to get to know each other. Celebrity matchmaker and online dating expert Carmelia Ray is a fan of online dating events. "I don't have to leave my house," she says.