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Nominate Your Friend to Go on a Blind Date With Our Dating Columnist (Are We Allowed to Do This?!)

We're setting up assistant editor and dating columnist Kerri Donaldson on some dates for an upcoming column. She's like our Vancouver Bachelorette! Don't tell HR!

By Stacey McLachlan /

When assistant editor Kerri Donaldson pitched us a new column tracking her adventures in offline dating, it was a big ol’ yes from me. She’s so sharp and funny and adventurous, I knew that whether she found love or not off the apps, we’d all have a great time following along. She’s got three stories for the series (we’re calling it Meet Cute) filed already: her first outing—to a dog-friendly speed-dating event—was brave, front-line journalism that deserves some attention from the Pulitzer committee, and her upcoming columns include a journey into a singles sauna and a search for love at the Maritime Museum. (You’re gonna want to subscribe to get Vancouver magazine delivered right to your door to make sure you don’t miss any of this ongoing saga. Luckily, just like love, this mag don’t cost a thing.)

On the one hand, I’m enjoying Meet Cute and Kerri’s gonzo love-journalism so much I hope she never finds love. On the other hand, how exciting would it be if Kerri’s investigations result in a relationship that we can then feature in our bi-annual Real Weddings special feature? It’s really a win-win situation, editorially speaking.

All of this is to say, Kerri is bravely going where most Vancouverites dare not to venture: off the apps. And for her next trick, she’s daring to let her co-workers set her up with some of the best people we know—our readers.

This is a grand experiment you should probably not tell Vanmag HR about. We’re asking readers to nominate their favourite singleton friends to go for a drink in Vancouver sometime next month—on Vanmag‘s dime, we’re classy like that—with our gal about town. Our editorial team will review the applications and pick three of the most suitable candidates for a trio of dates that will, obviously, be on the record (though identities will be obscured, don’t worry!).

This is your chance to nominate your best bud who is also tired of the Vancouver dating scene for a hopefully adorable, possibly hilariously awkward meet-and-greet that will (lightly) trauma-bond you. And isn’t that what blind dates are really all about? Live a little! (And if you want to nominate yourself instead? Power to ya!)

You hopefully already have fallen in love with Kerri from her incredible wit, big heart and amazing taste, but here are some other key facts about her that you should know if she is about to join your friend group by marriage: she’s the ideal person to duet “Don’t Stop Me Now” with at karaoke, she thinks hot dogs are the perfect food and she once got trapped on a water slide. Okay, I think you’re all caught up!

Let’s do this, Vancouver! Apply by March 3, 2026 for your chance at love. Again, please do not tell HR.

Stacey McLachlan

Stacey McLachlan

Stacey is the editor-in-chief of Vancouver magazine, and a senior editor for our sister mag, Western Living. She's also the author of Vanmag's monthly Know It All column—if you've got a question or wildly unsubstantiated rumour about our city, she wants to get to the bottom of it: [email protected]