mightyfastpig

09:07 am: January 5th MVK Workshop and Play party
Metro Vancouver Kink starts off the new year with another workshop and play party on

Saturday, January 5th, 2008.

Location: Video In Studios (wheelchair accessible)
1965 Main Street, Vancouver, BC

Workshop: Manners are my Kink, 7:30pm - 9pm.
Play party with fully equipped dungeon, 9pm - 1am

Admission: $10 workshop, $20 play party, $25 both. Vancouver Dungeon Steering Committee vouchers accepted.

Workshop:

Manners are My Kink— Basics in Recognizing and Understanding D/s Protocol

Ever wonder at some of the behaviour you see at the dungeon? Want ways to bring some more rituals into your scenes?

This workshop explores ways some people have of setting up d/s protocol in their relationships and scenes. Anika will discuss topics such as recognizing and interacting with people who are engaged in different kinds of formal manners and the meaning this can have in people’s lives. We’ll also get to see some ways to bring ritual and protocol into your own play.

For over a decade Anika Stafford has been designing and leading workshops on a host of sordid topics concerning BDSM, poly, queer and kink sexuality. She has recently, masochistically completed her graduate thesis with York University.

Tags: bdsm, fetish, kink, play party, s&m, s/m, vancouver, workshop

11:29 am: What, and leave show business?
Tuesday night's BDSM history talk was a bust. This time around, the policy was $10 pre-register, $20 at the door. Makes sense, right? However, the big stumbling block with this venue is that somebody has to stick around and run the store during the seminar, which means paying them for a 4 hour shift. The first $50 goes to the venue, and half of whatever is left over goes to me.

This time, one person pre-registered (thank you, S.M.). Two people did show up, but somehow they didn't realize that you had to pay double at the door, so they left promptly. I restrained myself from letting the air out of their tires. Seeing nobody else came, I packed up and went home.

This isn't quite as devastating for me as it would have been in the past. I've done this enough time that it's started to feel like a routine. I'm still peeved that I went through a lot of trouble to do this, including borrowing an LCD projector from a friend.

What's frustrating is that I don't know how this works, so I can't formulate an optimum strategy. My best attended talk was 13 people, but only three pre-registered.

There are a few other factors that probably contributed. First, it's summer, so people are less likely to be indoors on a warm night. I started promoting it late, I missed doing flyers at Rascals and I even put the wrong day of the month on the flyers. I did put out flyers at Womynsware, for the first time, which I thought would have brought in some fresh interest.

I'm also concerned I've reach a saturation point, and everybody who might be interested has already heard my talk. Maybe I need to develop the history of fetish fashion idea I've been thinking about.

Still, the show must go on. I've booked the Tuesday, August 28th, and this time I'm going to do it right with thorough and accurate promotion.

Maybe I need to think about branching into the US or the Island.

Tags: bdsm, kink