A few of you have probably heard about KinkForAll, which is an event I’ve been doing some work on. The second NYC event is coming up on the 8^th of August, and I would love to see folks involved and/or attending, if you’re interested! The details follow.

KinkForAll is an ad-hoc informational unconference on sexuality for anyone and everyone. KinkForAll draws participants from an astounding range of sexuality-related communities. Anyone with the desire to learn or with something to contribute is welcome and invited to participate.

Vitals
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What: The second no-limits sex-positive gender and sexuality unconference of New York City.
Why: To inspire a creative, interactive and open environment where everyone feels comfortable talking, learning, and being inspired by all kinds of sexuality.
When: August 8^th, 2009
Where: The LGBT Center, 208 West 13^th Street, New York.
Who: Everyone
How much: FREE (as in beer as well as freedom)

Details
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KinkForAll is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people of the kink, queer, sex-positive and related communities to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, presentations, and interaction from all participants.  (It is inspired by the BarCamp community.)

ANYONE WITH SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE OR WITH THE DESIRE TO LEARN IS WELCOME AND INVITED TO JOIN.  When you attend, be prepared to share with others. When you leave, be prepared to share it with the world.

A KinkForAll is a special kind of gathering because there are no spectators, only participants. Attendees must give a talk or a presentation, help with one, or otherwise volunteer/contribute in some way to support the event. This is called sharing and we like it. All presentations are scheduled the day they happen—there are no pre-scheduled presentations or keynote   addresses. The people present at the event will select the presentations they want to see.

Anyone can present, on any topic related to sexuality. You do not necessarily have to teach a new skill or idea. You might share an experience, review a product, or read a poem. The goal is to start a discussion, make connections, and exchange knowledge. Presentations promoting specific commercial products or companies are discouraged.

Learn more about what to expect at http://kinkforall.pbwiki.com/WhatToExpect

Learn more about the event guidelines at

Get Involved
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We need your help in spreading the word. Please help by participating. Here’s how:

1. Get excited by reading the ideas on
http://kinkforall.pbwiki.com/KinkForAllNewYorkCity2
2. Add your name or handle to the list of participants
3. Join the mailing list and introduce yourself by emailing
kinkforall@googlegroups.com

Still have questions? Read the Frequently Asked Questions at
http://kinkforall.pbwiki.com/FrequentlyAskedQuestions

or email kinkforall@googlegroups.com for more details.

KinkForAll Online
==============

Participate online before the event at your favorite social networking web site:

Homepage: http://KinkForAll.org
Google: http://groups.google.com/group/kinkforall
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KinkForAll
Identica: http://identi.ca/kinkforall
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/KinkForAll/40066342762
Fetlife: http://fetlife.com/groups/2962

All primary organizational efforts are being coordinated via the mailing list. Join for free and help turn ideas into realities!

http://groups.google.com/group/kinkforall

If you’re of legal drinking age, then an event you don’t want to miss is the 26^th Annual Leather Pride Night (LPN) Auction and charity benefit party. Tickets for Leather Pride Night are $15 in advance, and $20 at the door; see the announcement, crossposted from various sources, that follows for details:

The 26^th annual Leather Pride Night Auction will take place on Saturday, June 20^th, 2009. This year the festivities will be at Splash, 50 West 17^th Street. Splash’s doors will open for LPN at 6:00 PM, and the auction will run from 7 PM until 10:00 PM. Liquor, beer, wine and soft drinks will be provided at a cash bar. Light finger food will be served. A sign language interpreter will be present throughout the evening. This year, as every year, there will be a team of bootblacks to keep your boots and shoes looking sharp. All tips go toward the event’s total for the beneficiaries. We encourage everyone to come early to view the items up for auction, get your boots blacked, and be seen!

Jo Arnone, LPN’s veteran auctioneer, will preside over almost a hundred items being auctioned, including leather and latex fetish clothing, unique toys and equipment, art objects, event passes and tickets, and much more.

Leather Pride Night is sponsored by ten NYC S/m-leather- fetish organizations: Gay Male S/M Activists, Iron Guard BC, Lesbian Sex Mafia, MAsT Metro NY, MetroBears NY, New York boys of Leather (NYboL), Pariah’s MC, The Eulenspiegel Society and ONYX NY and many committed individuals.

Over the years, Leather Pride Night has donated over $300,000 for local and national charities. This year, Leather Pride Night will donate the 2008 Auction proceeds to: The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, Carmen’s Place, Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, By The Grace of George: The Pitbull Angel Fund and as is customary, an annual donation to Heritage of Pride, the producer of New York’s annual Pride Parade.

Tickets for Leather Pride Night are $15 in advance, and $20 at the door. Paypal payment is available at the LPN website. Tickets can also be obtained at any of the sponsoring organizations or the beneficiary organizations, as well as the following supporting commercial venues: The Baroness, David Samuel Menkes Custom Leatherwear, DomSubFriends, Purple Passion / DV8, The Leather Man, Passional, Nasty Pig, Le Chateau Exotique and Come Again.

[…]

The Leather Pride Night Committee is dedicated to promoting freedom of sexual self-expression, and actively works to improve the image and understanding of S/m and fetish lifestyles. It meets on the first Thursday of the month (October through June) at 8:00PM at the LGBT Center, 208 West 13^th Street.

There is no photography or cellular telephone usage allowed at the event. Media photography inquiries can be directed to Darrell at Darrellblackandblue@yahoo.com

LPN is run by volunteers! If you want to volunteer, send email to LPNnyc@aol.com

Now that Summer is here, that means TES Fest is just around the corner. The TES Fest announcement, crossposted from various sources, follows:

The Eulenspiegel Society (TES), the oldest and largest BDSM education and support group in the United States, is proud to announce TES Fest 2009 being held over the 2009 July 4^th weekend. TES Fest 2009, a four-day kinky conference, will take place from July 2 – July 5, 2009 in Piscataway, New Jersey.

TES Fest is bringing you the best BDSM presenters from all around the country! They will present classes for every level of experience, from introductory, basic to expert, and edgy. We’re covering bondage from all angles, impact play from flogging to takedowns, and D/s from multiple perspectives. We’re offering classes from the experts on
enemas, humiliation, suspension, caning, scene history, boot-blacking, cutting, and much more.

The following presenters have been confirmed for TES Fest 2009: Award winning author of “The Latina Kama Sutra, Dr. Charlie Ferrer; 2007 International Master and slave pair, Master Larry and slave barb; Kink.com’s Lochai; 2008 Pantheon of Leather Northeast Regional Award winner, Lady Sabrina and Leather Leadership Conference Emeritus Board Member, Lolita Wolf to name a few Presenter bios can be found online.

Classes will include “Sexually Transmitted Infections” with Dr. Dan, “Transition from BDSM to Master/slave” with Master Taino, “Advanced Electrical Play” with Uncle Abdul, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Hurt Me: Playing with a Vanilla Partner” with Coraline, “In Service: Satisfaction From a Job Well Done” with Angel and Sebastian and so
much more. View the complete class listing on the TES Fest web site.

TES Fest 2009 will be full of the same fun as last year. There will be outdoor play, indoor pool parties, meet and greets, author signings, a bloggers round table, play parties, casino night, extensive vendors section, of course an amazing indoor and outdoor dungeon space designed by Frazier and the Crucible Crew and so much more. We will have an expanded Cloud Nine, our relaxation and massage salon. We will be fund raising for National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) all weekend with 2 slave auctions and prime Cloud Nine spots.

We are also proud to announce that the Leather Archives and Museum Road Show, its traveling exhibit, will bring the rich fetish history available at the LA&M out of Chicago to TES Fest 2009! Included in the exhibit will be items of importance to the history of TES.

Buy your tickets and register at TESFest.org.

In a few weeks, the Lesbian Sex Mafia will be hosting Lady Sabrina as she teaches us about the intricacies of spanking.

Some people think of spanking as the least challenging of BDSM skills, requiring the least knowledge. It’s not flamboyant like singletails or edgy like knife play so it can’t be as exciting. However, in the proper hands, spanking can be a slow, sensuous climb to orgasm or a sharp, harsh discipline. It can be used to create a loving, hands-on scene, reduce the strongest person to tears or re-create a cherished fantasy.

Lady Sabrina will show how spanking can be a valuable tool in your arsenal as she discusses the different styles of spanking, value of role play, safety and use of toys.

Where: The LGBT Center, 208 West 13th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues

Cost: $5 for members; $10 for non-members

About Lady Sabrina

Lady Sabrina has been a member of the BDSM community for over 15 years presenting for TES, Knot4Everyone, DSF, Black Rose, John Jay College, PEP and others. A BDSM educator, she’s presented on such topics as Designing Protocols, slave training, scene etiquette, flogging, hot wax, Basic Dom Skills, etc. and has acted as an informal Mentor to many in the scene.

Having a love of paddles, floggers and books, Lady Sabrina supports her habit by selling BDSM gear and fetish wear at events like Folsom Street and Leatherfest through her business, My Lady’s Toys.

Lady Sabrina is currently on the Boards of TES, NY Leather Weekend,MAsT Metro NY, Cercle des Dommes and East Coast Leather Town Hall.She’s also a member of ONYX Pearls, LPN, SCONY and FM Masters. Lady Sabrina is honored to be the recipient of the 2008 Pantheon of Leather Northeast Regional Award.

About Lesbian Sex Mafia

Lesbian Sex Mafia is a social and educational organization for women and transfolk (see membership description below) who have a positive personal interest in BDSM with other women. Our tenets are safety, consensuality,confidentiality and the right of women to explore their sexuality as they choose.

Membership in Lesbian Sex Mafia is open to all women 18 years of age or older including gay, straight, bi, and transsexual and intersexed women who live their daily lives as women, and all female-born transgendered persons who have a connection with and respect for the women’s community. For membership information and benefits please visit www.lesbiansexmafia.org.