You can’t hurry love, or can you? Single professionals find it increasingly difficult to squeeze time for dating and social life with the demands of career and children. But there is a solution: speed dating. At 8minuteDating.com, singles get eight mini dates in one night. They spend eight minutes with each date before moving on to meet the next date.

No personal information or requests for dates are made at the event. Instead, after the event, singles log into the website to indicate if they’d like to meet each person again for a second date, for friendship or business. If there’s a match, then contact information is exchanged. If they don’t meet someone they’d like to meet again, their next event is free.

“Single people really love this concept because they can spend eight minutes getting to know if they want to meet that person again without having to commit to an entire evening,” said event organizer Sandy Manisco. “It saves time and money because you get eight dates for one low price.”

The company’s surveys, taken since 2001 when the company first started offering these events, indicate that 90 percent of participants find someone they’d like to meet again. And 99 percent of participants would recommend the event to their friends.

There are several events planned throughout the Chicago area including Wheaton Wednesday, Mar. 16 at Ivy Restaurant, Wheaton for daters ages 35-45 and 47-59.

“The age ranges are just guidelines,” said Manisco. “We encourage singles to sign up for the age range they are comfortable mingling in, even if they are outside of the age range.”

To participate for an 8minuteDating event, advance registration is required and space is limited. The fee is $34.88 and participants can register at 8minuteDating.com. For more information, contact the Event Organizer Sandy Manisco at 773-256-9228.