Tethers and Feathers (DC/MD/VA)

[Spenser]

We would like to announce our new group is Tethers and Feathers in the Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC area. T&F is holding munches at noon on the second Saturday of each month, with the next munch on Feb 9th. We are meeting at the Olive Garden at Tysons Corner, Virginia, located on the corner of Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) and Gallows Rd, with parking in the back.

Tethers and Feathers has been formed as a Tickling-SIG, or ‘special interest group’ for people interested in tickling, with the support and under the umbrella of Washington’s Black Rose Society.

The Black Rose support will also provide the tickling group with an opportunity to attend the Black Rose socials/parties which are held every month, on the 3rd Friday at 9 PM. We can set off a semi-quiet area in large auditorium sized conference room of the hotel the socials are held in, where us tickle folks may practice our own specialty. While we hope to plan additional separate parties in other locations during 2002, the group at least will now have a place to play.

Credit for a great deal of the effort in creating the T&F group must be given to Rodney, now in Virginia, who helped with a couple of the Mid-West tickle parties last year! The Tethers and Feathers group will still of course need to perform “outreach” to folks who with an interest in tickling, and haven’t yet found out about the local activities.

Also Black Rose has scheduled a weekday evening lecture-demonstration on Tickling on Tuesday February 19th in downtown Washington, DC. Anyone interested in this can e-mail me, Spenser, for more info on the group and where to meet.

Spenser

 

[magic fingers]

Count me in! As a Maryland resident, I've been waiting for a gathering in the Mid-Atlantic forever!!🙂

 

[magic fingers]

Hey Spencer, this all sounds great, but I'm a little concerned about privacy. Like a lot of ticklers/lees, I'm concerned about "outing myself" to the vanilla public, and when you have gatherings at public places like restaurants, or hotels, people might be very inhibited, or uncomfortable.

 

[Spenser]

Magic Fingers, you mentioned that, "I'm a little concerned about privacy. Like a lot of ticklers/lees, I'm concerned about "outing myself" to the vanilla public...."

First, 'munches', as are commonly called in the "alt." communities are NOT play parties, and they are held in secluded corners of restaurants. I'll repost a note I posted a while back about why we have munches first before we ever really schedule play parties, and they are exactly for the sort of reasons you are concerned about.

You also mentioned, "when you have gatherings at public places like restaurants, or hotels, people might be very inhibited, or uncomfortable."

Those many who have attended our munches over the last year have not felt inhibited once they got to the restaurant, sat down, and started talking to us. Hotel lectures and demos are held in "closed" and monitored (by a doorkeeper) meeting rooms.

The parties are also held in a private and "closed" and monitored (by a doorkeeper) auditorium. No photographs are allowed. A special attendance card must be presented with admission fee to get in. The special club "party" card must be signed by two board members. There are additional privacy protections that the club has provided as well.

Folks who have been -too- inhibited, despite all the provisions for safety and anonymity that we have built in, don't show up anyway.

Spenser

 

[Mischief]

Good evening, Spencer

This sounds like a very interesting opportunity to "come out from behind the keyboard" and meet fellow ticklephiles face to face. I, for one, am definitely looking forward to it-- although I might have to work on Feb 9th. Is there a particular time the munches are held, or is that revealed closer to the date of the event? Also, if we cannot attend the first munch, is it possible to join in during a second or subsequent event . . . or is the first munch sort of a screening process?

Thanks,

mischief

 

[Spenser]

Mischief,
Any munch is fine to get to. We had 3 munches last spring under the banner "T-Time", but other things got in the way and we never really got it going full blown. 'Sides there were only two of us running it then.
The new "Tethers and Feathers" group will sort of start off where the last one left off, but with more steam and about 6 or so people actively working to build this thing. We hope to have a mailing list of perhaps 30 to 50 or more by summer.
Last Saturday's munch was the 3rd or 4th for T&F, and the February munch will be another one of the same. We aren't eyeing each and every newcomer with deadly scrutiny. They really are just informal get togethers so that folks can get to know each other a bit. Drop by any time that is convenient. We have noted that if we don't set firm dates, they tend to slide as a lot of people will want one day or date over another. Setting one fixed date makes it the most fair to all.

We hope to run parties on different dates, but in the same months as the munches. I want to let everyone here know that as yet the T&F play activities will for the time being occur within the larger umbrella organization's (Black Rose Society) socials, every third Friday evening. This means that tickling 'per se' will be only one of many 'activities' going on in this supermarket sized hotel conference room (but with low light).
At some future date, this year for sure, we expect to hold separate parties for just the T&F group in much smaller, and more affordable locations.

Rest assured, we will be coordinating with other party hosts in the northeast US so that everyone is not holding a party on the same weekend!

Spenser, hopeful

 

[magic fingers]

Spenser, I'll more than likely be there, and thank you for answering my questions. I have one more; How many women actually show up for munches, and gatherings? It seems like most of the people in the forum are guys, and guys overall seem to be more into tickling than women. I'm definitely only interested in tickling women, and being tickled by women.

 

[Spenser]

moving this over to discussion

While you do have some good and legitimate questions, that have already been expressed by many others before, the thread is leaning toward "general tickling discussion" and that's where I'd like to shift this too. In that location we can find others who can share their party/social experiences.

Spenser

 

[Little Redhead]

Chris and I would love to come to a munch and meet other ticklers but I would be a little uncomfortable if I was the only female there. Are there any other women interested? We live in No. Va. and would to stop by! Please let me know!
Little Redhead

 

[Spenser]

Little Redhead, we'd love to have you and Chris come and meet the rest of us. Please don't be too shy. I've got enuf of that for all (read below). You won't be the 'only woman', as there is always my wife and Nici who show up. There was another couple as well at our last munch two weeks ago. You are very lucky in that you are already a couple. It's often much harder for single ladies to get up the nerve to come out. With that said, and to answer Magic Fingers post here, I'll add the stuff below.

I’d like to post this in the tickling discussion as well as the post in the general eastern gatherings section, where the questions arose. The posters may be looking for answers over there, but the points they raise deserve to be considered by our whole community, as we all have these thoughts.

The questions that always rise, first and very frequently. There is a shyness on everyone’s part, when considering showing up for a small gathering of folks with an interest in a behavior that could be regarded as “alternative” to social norms.

This shyness is even present in some extroverts, but can be nearly crippling for an introvert. A hobby of mine is a light study of humanistic psychology. The most shy and retreating personalities of all the Meyers-Briggs 16 “types” are the rare INFP’s. Not only are they rare among women, but they are almost non-existent in guys. I have been plagued all my life as being an INFP, and have had to some degree, learned to ‘cope’ with myself and in the big world outside. If there is something I want to get to that is so very compelling, I’ll battle with my own innate shyness and go!

The question most guys seem to have is, how many women will show up. There is an implication in that, that they may be reluctant to come to a gathering unless there is a good mix, many ladies as well as men, and a chance to meet a partner. I have to say that the odds at present are somewhat against that. At munches, we’ve had normally from 4 to 6 men, occasionally 7. And normally two or three ladies, occasionally only 1, my wife Melinda. From what I’ve heard at parties, and from the one NEST I attended, the ratio might be about the same, but the numbers of course are larger.

So if you have a party of 20 total, perhaps 13 or 14 of those will be men, the other 6 or 7 will be women. Most women come with a guy as a couple, but there are some brave single ladies who show up at parties and munches by themselves. These ladies do indeed have a very great interest in getting into the tickle scene. They often are far less ambivalent about jumping in than many men even seem to be!

Part of the predicament is that tickling itself seems to be a sort of “fringe” alternative sensual play pleasure, particularly as a social event. While there are only a few adventurous souls in the world today who want to come out in public and meet and greet other ticklers, it seems there are multitudes more for whom tickling is simply a private bedroom affair (sigh). We’ll never turn their minds on that one though.

Ticklers are just beginning to come out of their hiding spots (last three or four years), connecting first or so it seems electronically over the net, then in the munch/party format that the new groups are forming. I will admit that there have been some tickle fans who’ve had private parties for many years, but as a national and international phenomenon, it’s only in its infancy today, compared to many other (…. um) socially “alternative” pleasures and behaviors.

Being a ‘multi-fetishist’ myself; I dally in foot-fetishism, spanking, and the “leather-bondage” scene. For some unknown reason, ladies seem to show up at spanking and leather parties in far greater numbers and percentages than at tickle gatherings. I can only guess that the reasons for this are that at spanking and leather parties are far more “established”, and tend to attract at least 60 to 80 for monthly parties, and many hundred for seasonal gatherings and festivals. Also there are quite set “codes” of etiquette at these parties which are not to be violated. And ladies as well as gentlemen who attend are quite well aware of these codes of behavior. Violation can mean expulsion from the party immediately, and repeated violations can ostracize a person from the “scene” for life.
This alternative community is small enough that at least in the US and Canada, word gets around quickly, and reputations can be established and ruined by good and poor behaviors. Acceptable behaviors are truly meant to help people feel safe and comfortable making new friends who share their "thing".

I only say all this to present that there is a sense of safety and community and frivolity, and yes even comfort in attending and joining a group where you can meet others, the opportunity “may” arise to meet someone to share some tickling fun, and perhaps even someday to meet a lifetime tickle partner. The numbers may not be great yet, but each new person who comes is one person more. The ones who don’t come won’t know what they may have missed.

Spenser

 

[magic fingers]

Spenser, I'd love to attend this Saturdays munch, but I have to work until 1:00(believe me, I've tried to get out of it, but I can't) , and I work about an hour away, which means I won't be arriving until 2. How long are munches? Will I be wasting my time, getting there 2 hours late? Is there anything planned afterwards? I know I can always attend the next munch, in March, but I really want to meet some of my fellow ticklefiles