HOULTON, Maine — An Aroostook town’s raucous Dating Game challenge, a bit more “Bad Santa” than the 1960s TV original, featured a variety of Hallmark-style champagne-by-the-fire moments, as well as promises of mistletoe kisses and full moon sleigh rides.
Houlton’s Mistletoe Match-up Dating Game fundraiser, at Bastions Tavern on Friday night, was packed with a crowd unafraid of cheering on its favorite bachelors in a two-round match-up.
In each round, three bachelors vied to be the bachelorette’s top pick as she posed romance-minded questions from behind a partition, unable to see them.
“Bachelor No. 2, if you had one wish on a shooting star on Christmas Eve, what would it be?” asked Kandi, 38, a New Brunswick registered nurse.
“I would have to go with world peace,” said pilot Jerrod Whitney, 43.
“Did you say warm pizza?” said Kandi over the roaring crowd.
The mistletoe match-up is the third singles-themed event aimed at raising money for the community. Previous ones included the Houlton Humane Society’s Dudes & Adoptables calendar and the Community Impact Alliance Spuds & Studs Bachelor Auction.
Hosted by the Community Impact Alliance, the dating game, based on the long-running TV original, was designed to bring the community together as part of the town’s holiday weekend extravaganza and raise funds for future local events, said Johanna Johnston, executive director of the Southern Aroostook Development Corp., one of the organizers.
Although it was hard to hear over the hoots, hollers and cheers, Houlton’s dating game match-up proved successful for bachelors Brant Hubbard and Zach Inman, who were selected in their respective rounds.
Santa, aka WHOU radio personality Chris Putnam, emceed the event and kept things moving. Johnston, as a mistletoe elf, was his sidekick for the night.
The two bachelorettes who participated, Kandi and Liz, are not from Houlton and organizers thought that might add some intrigue and mystery to the game. Liz, 29, is in the banking industry in Presque Isle while Kandi, 38, lives in New Brunswick but works in the health care industry in Maine, said Johnston.
As the night progressed, the bachelorettes and bachelors exchanged holiday-themed questions and answers about subjects including wishes, gifts, festive foods and romantic nights and getaways.
When it was time for the final pick, Santa got the crowd’s opinion before each bachelorette made her selection.
In the second round, the crowd went crazy over Bachelor No. 3.
“You know, the crowd isn’t always right,” said Putnam. And in that round, Kandi selected against the crowd’s pick.
As part of the fundraiser, single women posted a sock and photo along the wall, and single men could purchase a candy cane to put into the sock with their phone number.
The six bachelors included Whitney, Hubbard, Inman, Dylan St. Louis, Mason Vanzile and Chris Wallace, who ranged in age from their 20s to 50s.
The holiday weekend event runs through Sunday.
