About Red River Singles
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    Frequently Asked Questions about Red River Singles

When did the Red River Singles club start?
    Red River Singles is a nonprofit organization founded in 1977.  Membership in 1992
    grew to over 640 single men and women.  (Read the March 4, 2006, Fargo Forum
    article below on Red River Singles).

What does the Red River Singles club do?
    Red River Singles hosts and promotes Dances, Activities, and Events for Single
    Adults.

Are there any Red River Singles Dances, Activities, and Events that are open to all ages?  

Who can attend Red River Singles dances?
    Any Adult.

What does Red River Singles mean by "Adult?"
   We define an "Adult" as someone who is at least 21 years old.

Can married people attend Red River Singles dances, activities and events?
    Yes.  We also call them "Married Alumni" or simply "Alumni."

Why would married people attend Red River Singles dances, activities and events?
    They enjoy attending the dances, activities and events to support the club, to dance, and to
    visit with their single friends.   

Who is eligible to become a member of Red River Singles?
    Any Single Adult.

What does Red River Singles mean by "Single?"
    Red River Singles defines "Single" as: not married, legally separated, divorced, or
    widowed.

How can I become a member of Red River Singles?
    Memberships may be purchased any time of the year by completing an application
    card and paying the membership fee.  This can be done at the admission table at
    any of the dances.  The membership fee is $25 per year.  The membership year goes from
    January 1st to December 31st of each year.

What are some of the benefits of being a member of Red River Singles?
  • Members are admitted to dances and other club activities at a reduced price.
  • Members names and contact information are included in the annual membership
    directory. (Members may choose to omit any of their information.)
  • Members will receive a free membership booklet.

How much does it cost for admittance to the dances in 2014?
    $5 for RRS Members (Must present current membership card to get the discount)
    $5 for College Students (Must present valid college ID card)
    $6 for Other Singles Club members (Must present current membership card to get
    the discount)
    $6 for Married Alumni (Dance attendees who are married)
       $9 for Non-members who are single (price starting in 2014)

What is the dress code for the dances and activities?
    Dress appropriately.  Casual or dress up, depending on the theme, the event or your
    own style.

What is the Smoking Policy?
    An indoor NO SMOKING policy is in force at all indoor dances and events.

How can I volunteer or become a part of the Red River Singles club board?
   Red River Singles is always looking for volunteers.  
   Contact the president of Red River Singles to tell how you would like to help.
   See the contact information at the bottom of this page.

What if I still have questions about Red River Singles that have not been answered here?
   Here are 3 easy ways to get your questions answered:
  •  Send your question through the form on the Contact RRS page.
  •  Send an email or call the president using the contact information at the bottom of this page.
  •  Contact the president or any board member in person at a dance, event or activity.
Singles mingle at local club dances
By Dave Roepke, The Forum
Published Saturday, March 04, 2006


After his first wife died, Don Fornes felt awkward socializing with his married friends.

Groups of four, six and eight had become groups of three, five and seven. When they played cards or danced, he was the
odd man out.
That’s why he left the Fargo Eagles Club early on a Saturday night shortly after his wife passed away. As he walked out,
the doorman pulled him aside. He knew Fornes’ wife had died.

You should stop in at the singles dance over at The Bowler, the doorman said. Fornes was skeptical, but he had to drive
by the bowling alley to get to his south Fargo home anyway.

“I figured I might as well stick my nose in and see what’s going on,” he says now, a quarter century later.

As soon as he walked in, Fornes saw a half dozen people he knew. This was what he was looking for, and he didn’t even
know he was looking for something.

“I just waltzed in there and felt right at home,” he says.

He soon became a regular at the singles dances and met his second wife. When she died in 1991, he met his third wife the
same way. They’ve been married 11 years now.       

So the Red River Valley Singles Club lost another pair of members. Twice. In the club’s 30 years of existence, it’s
happened dozens of times, definitely more than 50 but probably less than a hundred, says Kurt Kingsbury, the club’s
publicity director.

Neither Kingsbury nor anyone else minds when a couple pairs off. Losing membership is what this club is all about.

The singles who turn out for the club’s twice-a-month dances aren’t the sort you see in movies and on TV shows.

They’re not swinging bachelors and bachelorettes in their 20s and 30s. A handful of the 130 or so in attendance are in
their 40s, but most – well over three quarters – are 50 or older. Everyone I spoke to at a dance a few days before
Valentine’s Day was a divorcee, widow or widower.

Like most of the group’s dances, this one was at a ballroom in the Doublewood Inn in Fargo. In a room with so much loss
lingering, the vibe could be dour. But these people come here to get away from that, to move on. Most of them were
having a heck of a time, dancing to golden oldies courtesy of a quiet cover band.

“They’re not going to play Coldplay,” says club president Corinne Renner. “That’s just a demographic issue.”

Attendees range from the merely friendly to the outright flirty, liberated by the knowledge they won’t be barking up a
married tree.

That’s one of the draws for Mary Donegan, who is sitting with a group of about eight friends at a large round table. She
likes being able to ask a man to dance without looking over her shoulder. “I don’t want the wife coming up behind me,”
she says.

No one in Donegan’s group has had much luck with love tonight, but they laugh often. One member of her circle is Doug
Schmidt, a Carrington, N.D., man who came as “the doctor of love” to one of the club’s Halloween dances.

“I haven’t found anyone special yet, but they’re all special,” he says. “If it happens, it happens.”

Gloria Fornes, Don’s wife, agrees that dating again brings out the teen in people whose teens aren’t even teens anymore.

“We could drink coffee until three in the morning if we wanted to, and it wasn’t wrong,” she says.

But there is good reason for urgency. “I’m too old to go three or four years and find out we won’t work out,” one
member said.

That’s why one couple got engaged around Christmas.

Renner says not everybody joins the club with romance in mind (though she’s been with a couple guys she’s met there).

Some just want to get out and meet people. Others were steered here by support groups.

It’s usually a struggle for first-timers, Renner says. “It takes a lot of courage to come alone to something like this,” she
says.

When she was still coming to events on a regular basis, Gloria Fornes tried to help newcomers by introducing them to
people. “You can tell the ones that are shell-shocked when they walk in,” she says.

Betty Larson doesn’t seem shell-shocked, but you could understand it if she was. Just a few days ago, the middle-aged
woman from Ada, Minn., finalized her divorce with her husband of 27 years. Her father died on Christmas Eve.

She’s at the dance with her mother. This is Larson’s second time at one of these get-togethers, and she says she’s having
a good time. It helps her forget about things.

“I don’t want to rush into a relationship,” she says after buying a drink at the bar. “I want to get out all of the bad stuff
first.”

It’s an ideal spot for that sort of thing. Lots of people around who’ve been through the same. Fornes wishes more people
would realize that. She thinks the club is one of the area’s best-kept secrets.

“I read the divorces in the paper and I think, ‘Where are all these people?’ ” she says.

Maybe they should talk to Schmidt, the former doctor of love. His prescription: “If you can’t have a good time here, it’s
not worth living,” he says.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Roepke at (701) 241-5535
Michael Vosburg / Forum photo editor

(The original article has been edited for length and content by request.)
RED RIVER SINGLES CELEBRATED 30 YEARS in 2007

Red River Singles celebrated 30 years on September 22, 2007 at the VFW in West
Fargo.  There were 178 plus in attendance.  Twenty-two alumni came to celebrate and
some had met their spouses at RRS.  Other happy couples announced their
engagements and recent marriages.  Congratulations to them!  We wish them all the
best.

Don and Gloria Fornes (alumni) donated a bouquet of flowers that was given as a door
prize.  Perkins, Speak Easy and the Royal Fork donated the gift certificates for door
prizes.  Bob Myers donated Hershey's Kisses for the tables.  Red River Singles gave
gift certificates to Lone Star and Grizzly's and dance passes.

Special thanks to Lute Simley for providing great music and much more.  Again, thanks
to all to made this night a success.  Lets help keep RRS going for another 30 years.

The location for most of the Red River Singles dances in 2013 will be at:
VFW-West Fargo
308 Sheyenne St
West Fargo, ND
Check the Dance & Event Schedule for the current locations.

Red River Singles,  P.O. Box  9781,  Fargo, ND  58106

E-mail address: red_river_singles@yahoo.com
or call 218-233-8141