Monthly Archives: August 2011

Crude Weekend – Sept 9 – 11, 2011 – Reserve your spot today!

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Reserve your spot today at The Point

Friday
2:00 pm – Registration & Setup
10:00 am – Pool Open
8:00pm – Opening Ceremonies
9:00pm – Bingo
10:00pm – Bonfire/Meet & Greet
10:00pm – Play in the backwoods

Saturday
10:00am – Pool Open
Noon – 3:00pm – Demos 

  • Fisting with Master Aaron
  • Flogging with Master R

3:00pm – Pool Party

TBD – Wet Party
6:00pm – Mexican Fiesta Party & Potluck Dinner
10:00pm – Slick Dance Party
10:00pm – Play in the backwoods 

Sunday
10:00am – Continental Breakfast
11:00am – Closing Ceremonies

 

Interview with PositiveLite.com – Part Two

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Here is part two of the interview from PositiveLite.com.

I was very candid in this second part of the interview where Bob and I talk a bit deeper about D/s, switching, play, risky sex, pig sex, risk mitigation, the ertocization of safer sex  and  things that are taboo that need to be talked about.  I hope this opens discussions in a positive way about how we want to and do play.

Interview with PositiveLite.com – Part One + Video

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In February 2010, I took part as a panelist in a seminar called, “Get Your Kink On: Best Practices in BDSM Outreach” at the Gay Mens Sexual Health Summit.  I am particularly proud of my involvement in this seminar and with the other panelists as we got people – counsellors with ASOs, nurses with public health departments, and others thinking about how to reach kinky people.

The feedback was amazing.  Where the attendees were used to hearing very clinical terms, research and numbers; we, the panelists, were very frank, upfront and honest.  We’re not afraid to use colloquial terms because that’s how we interact in our day-to-day lives as gay men and Leathermen.  We talk about fucking, we talk about rimming, etc… We don’t use intercourse and analingus – oh so clinicial! LOL!

At the time, I was interviewed by Bob Leahy.  I love reading his Green Acres blog at PositiveLite.com and I think it’s great that both Bob and the PositiveLite team are looking to bring humour to an otherwise downer topic.  Check out their vision statement:

Most HIV-related websites dedicated to the needs of those who are HIV-positive tend to be serious  – and frankly a bit of a downer – as we read about health issues, treatment problems, stigma, legal issues, etc., and little else
 
For the publisher (Brian Finch) and founder, however, a sense of humour is what has got him through the last 23 years of living with HIV. There is no need for debate about the role of humour and its relationship to positive health outcomes  There needs to be something different out there that celebrates having fun.
 
PositiveLite.com is a Canadian-driven website for both those of us who are HIV-positive and our friends and supporters, irrespective of sexual orientation, gender or nationality. We tackle important issues while maintaining a “lifestyles magazine” format. 

And that is something I am happy to support.

Bob approached me recently, following up on the interview after he reconnected with me on Twitter.  He wanted to write something on Leather, and was fascinated with the panel discussion a year and a half ago.  He also took a bunch of pictures of Sir and me during this year’s Pride parade.

I spoke candidly about Leather, my experiences, coming out twice, how I got started, Master Chuck’s family, what Leather is to me, being Eastern Canada Leatherboy, my philosophy on Leather, title holding and sexuality; about creating balance, play, and safety in play, the eroticization of safer sex, pig sex, and talking about so-called taboo topics that I think we need to be open and honest about, messaging when it comes to spreading the safer sex word, risk mitigation and creating empowerment. We really covered a lot!

Here is part one of the interview from PositiveLite.com.

Also, here is the original interview taken at the GMSH Summit:

Crude Weekend – Sept 9 – 11, 2011 – Reserve your spot today!

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Over the years, I had been asked to get involved with setting up a mens Leather weekend at The Point Tent & Trailer Resort.  It was something the general manager, a friend of mine, had talked about in passing a few times but we never really made it happen – until now.

The Point has been host to various pansexual BDSM events over the years.  Why not a weekend for men?

The goal for Crude Weekend is really to have a fun play weekend.  It’s about Leather and BDSM fun and play, outside.  It’s mean to be… crude.  Somewhere between what you would find at a run like Spearhead or the Rochester Rams, and Tease.

Make reservations today for your site at get-tothepoint.com.

Here are the planned events – some details are forthcoming:

Friday
2:00 pm – Registration & Setup
10:00 am – Pool Open
8:00pm – Opening Ceremonies
9:00pm – Bingo
10:00pm – Bonfire/Meet & Greet
10:00pm – Play in the backwoods

Saturday
10:00am – Pool Open
Noon – 3:00pm – Demos – Demo schedule forthcoming.  3 demos, scheduled for 45 minutes.
3:00pm – Pool Party
TBD – Wet Party
6:00pm – Mexican Fiesta Party & Potluck Dinner
10:00pm – Slick Dance Party
10:00pm – Play in the backwoods 

Sunday
10:00am – Continental Breakfast
11:00am – Closing Ceremonies

My hope, and I realize that sometimes these events need to grow slowly, I am hoping that this could become an annual weekend that could be linked in with Eastern Canada LeatherSIR/Leatherboy and specifically hosted and co-arranged by whoever the Eastern Canada Leatherboy is for a particular year.

Toronto Leather Pride

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Leather Pride Parade in Toronto

A few weeks ago, just after Pride, I wrote what Pride was for me – or at least, one part of it.

Sunday culminated with the combination of the “Church St. Fair”, formerly the “Church St. Fetish Fair”, and Toronto Leather Pride.

The Church St. Fetish Fair was a weekend designed for a number of reasons:

  • for sexual minorities to show their pride.
  • for people to recognize that “it’s okay” to be kinky – after all, everyone has their kink.
  • it was designed to bring more people to the Church St. Business Improvement Area.  As long as we acknowledge that at some level, it was for capitalistic reasons, and I am fine with that.  After all, Church St has a number of independent businesses that I would prefer to support over larger commercial enterprises.

I believe the event in the past did create a safe space where people could wear their fetish clothing during the day and display their sexuality, rather than having to ‘hide it’ away in a club or bar, and people could explore things in a non-threatening environment.  After all, that is one aspect of what Church St. is about – sexuality.  Why would we want that sanitized in the days of conservatism in Toronto and in Canada?

So this year, the BIA decided to drop the Fetish aspect based on many reasons as described in this podcast episode for a kinky internet radio show, sanitizing the event.  The one reason I am most offended at was that, to paraphrase, businesses didn’t like kinky folk standing in front of their stores doing things like standing in diapers or flogging out of fear that people wouldn’t return to those businesses?

Kinky folk are not allowed in the Gay Village?

I knew the Gay Village was going mainstream, but hadn’t realized just how mainstream.

Excuse me, but the Church St. Fetish Fair was meant to be an adult event.  Church St by it’s very existence has always been a more adult place.  While I may not be interested in one person’s fetish, who I am I to censor?  If you’re looking for something much more open and inclusive, that’s what Pride is about.  I will also add that if you want to be inclusive, then you also need to be inclusive of kinky folk when it comes to Church St.  You cannot just say, “We want everyone but you, you’re not welcome” especially on a street that was built on and celebrates sexual minorities.

Needless to say, Church St. witnessed it’s first Leather Pride parade yesterday. Kinky people – players, lifestylers, fetishists, pan, bi, gay, straight, two spirited – you name it – came together walked up and down Church St in a celebration to say, “Hi, we are here, and we’re not going away.”

While some would disagree with the flash mob and parade. I do support this initiative and it made a point.  We are still around, there are a LOT of us and we will not be pushed back into the leather or sex closet.

It’s important for these businesses to know that the same people that purchase from them, are the same people that some have talked about negatively.

And needless to say, the BIA realized their mistake:

  • The Ferris Wheel and Bouncy Castles went largely unused.  The mechanical bull was quite busy.
  • There were still a bunch of independent fetish businesses that sold their products on the street despite the drop in the number of vendors.
  • Overall attendance, I’m sure, was down because most of the kinky leather folk who would have spent their hard earned dollars, gladly supporting Church St. Businesses, supported Zipperz who were the Sunday hosts of Toronto Leather Pride.  Smart move for Zipperz.
Once again, I reiterate, what pride is for me:
  • celebrating who I am,
  • the ability to be who I am in light of all the work that has been done by others that have come before me
  • to tell the world that it’s okay to be who you are regardless of sexuality, gender identity, gender, body type
  • taking a stand as a community, to take our place in community
  • showing that there are different ways to live and to love.

Mr Northern Ontario Bear 2011 August 20, 2011 Proudly Sponsored by Squirt

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This summer, SNO-Bears is having its first Mr. Northern Ontario Bear competition, to be held on the Saturday evening of our Northern Exposure 2011 Run (August 20, 2011). Join us for a celebration of bear-ness in its many forms!

Contestant qualifications

Each contestant in the Mr Northern Ontario Bear competition must:

  1. Be at least eighteen (18) years old.
  2. Be legally male, or male self identified.
  3. Be self identified as a bear or cub in the bear community.
  4. Be of same-sex or bi-sex orientation.
  5. Be a resident of Northern Ontario, or have Temporary Residence Status as granted by the board of SNO Bears.
  6. Be registered for the Sno-Bears Northern Exposure 2011 event.
  7. Either have demonstrable bear fur, or a demonstrated interest in fur, food, wrestling, or mauling and/or growling during sex.
  8. Have at least one bear related piece of clothing, leather, jock, or burger wrapper.
  9. Agree to appear onstage wearing appropriate bear or cub wear and perform onstage fun tasks by the M.C. (while conforming with local regulations, if any, pertaining to nudity and obscenity)
  10. Own all clothing worn onstage during the contest.
  11. Does not hold a current bear related title.
  12. Agree to return to the 2012 Mr. Northern Ontario Bear competition as a judge, and to hand over the title to the new Mr. Northern Ontario Bear
  13. Agree to permit on-stage photographs to be taken of him for the use on the contest web site. (For shy bears an ass only or other non face shot is acceptable.)
  14. Read and agree to the terms of the statement of “What is Expected of the Winner”
  15. Must give the contest organizer notice of intent to enter by 11 AM Saturday, August 20.
  16. Agree to arrive at the SNO Bears weekend no later than 12:00 noon on Saturday, August 20, 2011 and appear in person for all meetings that day and all scheduled events during the competition.
  17. Must not have played with any of the judges from 1 hour before to 10 minutes after the competition. (It’s a small bear community, and it It’S mating season.)

What is expected of the winner:

You must brag about your title to at least one bear or cub per month for the following year.

What the winner gets:

  • One year of bragging rights.
  • 25% off next years run.
  • A 90 day full membership for Squirt.org
  • A bear ready lube kit courtesy of Squirt.org
  • Where bear men in Northern Ontario cruise

Where bear men in Northern Ontario cruise

Toronto Leather Pride Seminar Schedule Update

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All Seminars will take place at:


The 519 Comunity Centre
519 Church Street (just North of Church and Wellsley on the East Side).
Toronto, Ontario.
Tickets can be purchased at the Toronto Leather Pride welcome centre. Also located at the 519. It Will be open Friday, August 12th through 14th.
Tickets will be limited by room size and it’s first come first served.

Saturday August 13th, 2011 Sunday, August 14th, 2011
Room 1 Room 2 Room 1 Room 2
10:00 Master Tony
~~~
Piercing Play		 Rebecca M &
Jacqueline St-Urbain
~~~
Flogging		 N/A N/A
10:15
10:30
10:45
11:00
11:15
11:30 Break Break
11:45 Shibari Pyro
~~~
One Tie to Bind Them All		 Anika Bergstrom &
beth tyler
~~~
The Disarming Power of Service
12:00
12:15
12:30
12:45
13:00
13:15 Break Break Break Break
13:30 Master C
& boy iain
~~~
Get Zapped – E- Stim & Electrotorture		 *KinkDan
~~~
Pervertables: What’s in Your Toy Bag?		 Patty
~~~
Mummy may I? Yes, you may!: Mummification for Beginners		 *boy matt
~~~
The Spiritual Side of Bootblacking
13:45
14:00
14:15
14:30
14:45
15:00 Break Break Break Break
15:15 *N/A International Ms Boot Black 2011
kd
~~~
Giving Good Chair		 Fenn
~~~
Everything you wanted to know about Rubber, but were afraid to ask		 Black Orchid
~~~
Hitting People with Sticks
15:30
15:45
16:00
16:15
16:30
16:45

* Schedule has recently been changed

Please note this is an 18+ event ID may be required. We reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone or ask people to leave if they are intoxicated or causing a disturbance.

Saturday August 13th, 2011 Seminars

10am – 11:30am

Piercing Play 
Presented by Master Tony
The workshop will be interactive and hands on. It will demonstrate the use of needles for erotic piercing and stimulation, and will focus on technique and safety for having a healthy and enjoyable BDSM scene. We will look at a number of things including mental and physical aspects of this form of BDSM play.
The workshop will not only include the safe use of needles, but the proper disposal of needles and equipment, as well as sterility and cleanliness. Focus on safety, both physical and mental and the concerns that may occur with this very invasive and exciting play will be stressed. Sterile, single use needles will be available for those who wish to try it.

Flogging
Presented by Rebecca M & Jaqueline St-Urbain
Flogging can range from a dance of seduction to a methodical take-down. Depending on the tool and the person who wields it, it can feel like a flaying or a massage, and everything in between. This workshop will discuss some of the different types of floggers, demonstrate some basic techniques and discuss the psychology of flogging and the ways it can be incorporated into play.

11:45am – 1:15pm

One Tie To Bind Them All
Presented by Shibari Pyro
In this class we will debunk the “myth of a thousand knots” and show how a single rope tie can be used to accomplish anything from a simple cuff to a complete suspension. You will learn this single, simple knot as well as examples of creative ways to use it to quickly bind up a bottom in any number of contortions for your own devious purposes. This knot can be used with virtually any type of rope and demystifies rope bondage for the beginner as well as being an integral part of the arsenal of an experienced rope artist. This class will be hands on with a chance for participants to practice ties of their own with supplies provided.

The Disarming Power of Service
Presented by Anika Bergstrom & beth tyler
Whatever your orientation toward service and power might be, get ready to think outside the box! We will start by considering paradigms of service that arise in the world at large, where we spend most of our time. Our kink is informed by the reality that we exist as complex social creatures, thus our working definition of service will be built from the broader experiences of our humanity. With this as a departure point, we will begin to shift our dialogue from the forms service might take to the functions it can serve within power exchange. While service can happen on many levels, for the purposes of this workshop, we will be focusing mostly on relationships that are shaped by entitlement and possession (e.g. M/s, ownership, and other ongoing D/s dynamics). In particular, we will be exploring service as a vehicle for devotion, trust, attunement and responsibility – from both dominant and submissive perspectives. All levels of experience are welcome.

1:30pm-3pm

Get Zapped – E- Stim & Electrotorture
Master C & boy iain
Master Chuck, Eastern Canada LeatherSIR 2011 and boy iain, Eastern Canada Leatherboy 2011 will cover the safety aspects of Sadomasochistic play with e-Stim and Electrotorture play. Equipment will be reviewed as well how to hook up a sub for electro-pleasure or pain.

Pervertables – What’s in Your Toy Bag? 
Presented by KinkDan
A hands-on look at twisted uses for everything day items to add fun to our kinky escapades. Pervertables lower the risk of losing your favourite flogger when travelling. They also help create a better role-play experience; after all the Hot Cop arresting you shouldn’t whip out a set of leather restraints instead of their handcuffs…


3:15pm – 4:45pm

Giving Good Chair
Presented by International Ms Boot Black 2011 kd
You’ve attended a “Bootblacking 101” class, or two. You’ve sat down with your Daddy and learned the basics of a spit shine. You’ve interrogated your bootblack friends about what Huberd’s really is. Or maybe you haven’t done any of these things. Regardless of what you know about the process of bootblacking itself–the technicalities, if you will–this workshop won’t cover any of those things. This workshop will cover the nature of “giving good chair” in three parts: 1. The Basics, 2. Upping the Ante, 3. Fucking Without Sex. Start off by learning how to be  attentive and a great conversationalist; move on to engage in sensual physical contact; and leave them wanting more with boot worship.

  

Sunday August 14th, 2011 Seminars

1:30pm-3pm

Mummy may I? Yes, you may!: Mummification for Beginners
Presented by Patty
A form of bondage; a way to play with sensory deprivation; a spiritual experience? The practice and art of mummification is all this and much more.  Through lecture and hands-on demonstrations, this workshop will provide participants with a foundation to begin exploring mummification. Topics covered will include: physical, psychological and spiritual safety measures; basic skills for mummifying; creative considerations to pervert everyday materials; and ways to capitalize on the spiritual potential for both the Top(s) and bottom(s).

The Spiritual Side of Bootblacking
boy matt
The discussion focuses on the spiritual side of boot blacking by looking at the headspace of the bootblack before, during, and after the actual blacking. It will help beginning bootblacks to look at the possible spiritual aspects of boot blacking, as well as dominants who are receiving the bootblacking. During the workshop, I will first discuss what bootblacking spirituality is for me, how I came to realize what it was, and how I express it currently. I will then demo this aspect by doing a Sir’s boots to witness this Spirituality. Finally, if there is time, there will be a Q&A for everyone to participate in.

3:15pm – 4:45pm

Everything you wanted to know about Rubber, but were afraid to ask
Presented by Fenn
Former Mr International Rubber (2010) Fenn will help you delve into the world of rubber. He will cover play, gear, safety and accumulation and even some history. Topics will include how to size yourself for rubber;  where you can find it and where you can find it cheap;  liquid latex;  latex maintenance, repair and CREATION. NOTE: if you have a strong allergic reaction to latex or rubber this seminar is not for you.

Hitting People with Sticks
Presented by Black Orchid
A discussion and demonstration of the use of stick-like impact toys such as canes, riding crops, baseball bats, and paddles of various kinds.