Fishbowl Events was formed by Allison Johnson and Ola Zdzarska with the common vision of creating social opportunities for people from different backgrounds to mix and mingle. We exist to help build and fortify your social networks. The majority of our clientele lives in Beijing, but are transplants from other cities, creating a unique mix of foreign expats and local Chinese.

We began our experience in 2007 when we formed “The Speedating Specialists”. The success of these events encouraged us to design new and more interesting occasions to socialize. The increasing demand for a new social mecca among Beijing’s young professional community has brought us together once again to collaborate and create events where you can enjoy the fabulous nightlife that Beijing has to offer.

While we are well known for our Speed Dating parties, we also hold different types of events such as open parties and cooking parties. Our Lock & Key Singles Mixer is an open party for people to casually meet. The cooking party Hook N Cook is a low pressure way to meet new people while preparing dinner together.

The Organizers

Ola Zdzarska has a master’s degree in Journalism and Politics Sciences and a bachelor’s degree in Ethnology and Culture Anthropology. Her university studies and thesis allowed her to work with many people from different cultural and social backgrounds. Additionally, Ola used to be on the former Polish President Lech Walesa’s secretarial staff, where she liaison with business clients. Meeting new people and networking is second nature to her. Ola’s hobbies include listening to the life stories of people she meets. She has lived and worked in Beijing for 3 years.

Allison Johnson, the daughter of a psychologist, studied International Conflict Resolution at the University of California, Berkeley. She wrote her Honors thesis on Race Relations in the United States and is a certified Conflict Mediator. She has lived in Beijing for 4 years during which she worked at as Marketing Executive for an international law firm. Her professional experience gave her extensive experience in organizing a variety of events. Personally, she has always loved bringing together friends of different backgrounds to meet and interact. Running Fishbowl events gives her the opportunity to observe human interaction and chemistry.