As I hinted in my brief note day before yesterday, there is a bit of movement afoot (s) in the DC-Va-MD area.
There were some initial efforts at getting some munches going under the moniker "T-Time" in this area way back in the Spring, but then due to a lot of other stuff, it all sort of floundered.
We've got some new blood and some new life going on.
The Black Rose Society (founded as PEP in 1980 in Washington, DC) is the second oldest official BDSM support organization in the US, after TES (1971, New York). The annual four day "party" BR-'Year#' hosts about 4,000 attendees, and I have no idea how large their mailing list is. I joined Black Rose in 1991.
Chris M. is a former board member and a nationally known and well respected lecturer on all things 'kinky' and enjoyable. As I found out recently, his first love in the world of fetish and perversion, even before bondage, was Tickling!
I'd missed his "tickling" talk-demo in DC at a BR weekly meeting, but a few months later (Aug.'01) he gave a repeat in Baltimore, and it was wonderful, a solid introduction to the tickling thing for many folks in the Balt-BDSM community who'd never really seen or thought of tickling much before, plus a couple of multi-kinksters who had!
It is Chris' plan to try to get approval for a Tickling-SIG under the umbrella of Black Rose. There are several SIG's (Special Interest Groups) already, and the board, which will see the proposal in January needs to be 'convinced' of a need for a new and special group just for ticklers. We've been gathering our ammunition.
Also assisting Chris in this effort is Rodney and Pamela. Rodney is formerly of Columbus, Ohio and he tells me, helped to put on a couple of the Mid-West (Ohio) tickle parties with Bella Risa and Annaloo! Then this summer he moved to Virginia near us, where his lady Pamela lives. Pamela is also on this year's Black Rose board of director's.
Sooooo.....
Here's the 'pluses', as I see 'em if we get this through (which looks iminent):
- There will be a lot of regular and structured support in (at least) the local/regional 'leather' community for tickling and tickle get togethers.
- There will be an opportunity for folks who at least know of the Black Rose Society, but are too shy of the 'leather/bondage' image of the group to at least attend separate SIG meetings and perhaps parties and gatherings without the other 'stuff' they may be a bit squeamish about.
- There will be, at least at some of the initial big socials with the entire BR Society, a semi-quiet area in the room, where tickle folks may practice their own specialty, and perhaps attract some attention from curious leather folks interested in expanding their own horizons and play styles.
- The sharing of internet based notifications across a broad based and as yet little touched set of communities.
The minuses, ... if any:
- We still won't be reaching the folks who've never heard of leather-bondage-fetish support groups, and/or also those who have and don't read or follow their notices because of the (heretofore) lack of attention to tickling by those communities, or are merely turned off to or affraid of those sorts of kink.
- The effort will need to be coupled with an expansive outreach effort to those areas, user groups, and individuals who might just be lurking and wondering about tickling, and have not known how to find out about it at all.
Lastly, I don't think we're going to turn-on or turn-over the world overnight here. But at the rate things are stirring up, I wouldn't be surprised that we have our first DC area tickle fests in mid 2002!
What I want to caution the eager ones in the local tickle community is to try to coordinate plans for parties with what's going on nationally, by following the reported info in this great list, under the regional gatherings tab! That way at least hopefully all the parties won't be at one time, and some who wish to travel to get to some may be able to get to more by spreading them out over the year.
I'll have more on this as news develops. Other that, I think it's great that the Mid-Atlantic area is playing such an active roll in getting more tickling functions going over this year.
Spenser, eager and hopeful for the New Year
There were some initial efforts at getting some munches going under the moniker "T-Time" in this area way back in the Spring, but then due to a lot of other stuff, it all sort of floundered.
We've got some new blood and some new life going on.
The Black Rose Society (founded as PEP in 1980 in Washington, DC) is the second oldest official BDSM support organization in the US, after TES (1971, New York). The annual four day "party" BR-'Year#' hosts about 4,000 attendees, and I have no idea how large their mailing list is. I joined Black Rose in 1991.
Chris M. is a former board member and a nationally known and well respected lecturer on all things 'kinky' and enjoyable. As I found out recently, his first love in the world of fetish and perversion, even before bondage, was Tickling!
I'd missed his "tickling" talk-demo in DC at a BR weekly meeting, but a few months later (Aug.'01) he gave a repeat in Baltimore, and it was wonderful, a solid introduction to the tickling thing for many folks in the Balt-BDSM community who'd never really seen or thought of tickling much before, plus a couple of multi-kinksters who had!
It is Chris' plan to try to get approval for a Tickling-SIG under the umbrella of Black Rose. There are several SIG's (Special Interest Groups) already, and the board, which will see the proposal in January needs to be 'convinced' of a need for a new and special group just for ticklers. We've been gathering our ammunition.
Also assisting Chris in this effort is Rodney and Pamela. Rodney is formerly of Columbus, Ohio and he tells me, helped to put on a couple of the Mid-West (Ohio) tickle parties with Bella Risa and Annaloo! Then this summer he moved to Virginia near us, where his lady Pamela lives. Pamela is also on this year's Black Rose board of director's.
Sooooo.....
Here's the 'pluses', as I see 'em if we get this through (which looks iminent):
- There will be a lot of regular and structured support in (at least) the local/regional 'leather' community for tickling and tickle get togethers.
- There will be an opportunity for folks who at least know of the Black Rose Society, but are too shy of the 'leather/bondage' image of the group to at least attend separate SIG meetings and perhaps parties and gatherings without the other 'stuff' they may be a bit squeamish about.
- There will be, at least at some of the initial big socials with the entire BR Society, a semi-quiet area in the room, where tickle folks may practice their own specialty, and perhaps attract some attention from curious leather folks interested in expanding their own horizons and play styles.
- The sharing of internet based notifications across a broad based and as yet little touched set of communities.
The minuses, ... if any:
- We still won't be reaching the folks who've never heard of leather-bondage-fetish support groups, and/or also those who have and don't read or follow their notices because of the (heretofore) lack of attention to tickling by those communities, or are merely turned off to or affraid of those sorts of kink.
- The effort will need to be coupled with an expansive outreach effort to those areas, user groups, and individuals who might just be lurking and wondering about tickling, and have not known how to find out about it at all.
Lastly, I don't think we're going to turn-on or turn-over the world overnight here. But at the rate things are stirring up, I wouldn't be surprised that we have our first DC area tickle fests in mid 2002!
What I want to caution the eager ones in the local tickle community is to try to coordinate plans for parties with what's going on nationally, by following the reported info in this great list, under the regional gatherings tab! That way at least hopefully all the parties won't be at one time, and some who wish to travel to get to some may be able to get to more by spreading them out over the year.
I'll have more on this as news develops. Other that, I think it's great that the Mid-Atlantic area is playing such an active roll in getting more tickling functions going over this year.
Spenser, eager and hopeful for the New Year
