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Unvaxxed singles event in Colorado canceled by venue due to ‘safety concerns’

An event aimed at bringing together like-minded Denver singles has been canceled by the venue, but the organizer said the show will go on elsewhere.

The free mixer is being promoted by Unjected, a dating app that touts itself as the “world’s first unvaccinated platform” that is “built on creating health-conscious relationships with those who share like-minded values and the convictions to remain unvaccinated.”

It was scheduled to take place at Recess Beer Garden, located at 2715 17th St. in Denver, on May 29, as part of the app’s four-city tour that also includes stops in Nashville, Tenn., Boise, Idaho and Portland, Ore.

“Unvaxxed people are hotter. We don’t make the rules. Come find out for yourself this summer,” the dating platform wrote last week on its Instagram page.

Engagement on the post — pro and con — began to pick up after Denver’s Westword wrote a feature on the event and local podcast City Cast Denver discussed the controversy that had begun to percolate.

“Went for the singles. Left with the shingles,” wrote one Instagram user called @genericartdad.

“Oh nice, Denver’s having its own Darwin Awards ceremony,” wrote another user called @dovethedemo.

Other users defended the event.

“The ‘No Kings’ crowd sure hates freedom of choice when they don’t agree with it lol the irony,” wrote user @funzier.

“Denver! LOL these people in the comments are really trying to make us feel bad for not having destroyed our bloodlines huh?” wrote user @robzph.

Recess Beer Garden also emerged in the comments, clarifying that they were not affiliated with, sponsoring, or hosting the event.

Then on Wednesday, the beer garden announced on TikTok that it had canceled the event at its venue altogether, saying it had learned of the event through social media posts.

“Due to escalating hostility and safety concerns surrounding this situation, and the lack of compliance from the event organizers, this advertised event will not take place at Recess Beer Garden,” the business wrote in a lengthy TikTok post. “The safety and well-being of our staff and guests will always come first.”

Recess Beer Garden said the cancellation came amid “increasingly hostile rhetoric surrounding the situation, including hateful language, online attacks, threats toward our business and harassment directed at our staff who had no involvement in this event.”

The beer garden said in its post that it has a strict non-discrimination policy.

Now, Unjected said it’s looking for a new venue to host the singles mixer.

“Denver. May 29th. We are still coming. We just need a new spot,” Unjected wrote on Instagram. “If you know a venue, a backyard, a rooftop, or any space owned by someone who actually believes in freedom of choice – please DM us or drop it in the comments.”

On Instagram, a user who appears to be Scott Durland, owner of The Grizzly Rose, volunteered his venue to host the event.

Durland was critical of Colorado’s COVID regulations, according to a 2021 Westword report, and his venue was overwhelmed by a large crowd after a quiet reopening on Jan. 30, 2021.

“You can suppress the location,” Unjected wrote on Instagram. “You cannot suppress the community.”

The Denver Gazette reached out to the Grizzly Rose for comment, but did not hear back by the time this story published.


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