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2005
by Yum Yi
Lupercalia MMV was my second Lupercalia, and
like the year before it left a lot of things to think about. I
think that’s one of the great things about events like this – you
get to learn more about topics you’re already passionate about – but
also get exposed to a lot of new ideas as well….
I headed up from Calgary to Edmonton early on
Friday, February 18th, so that I’d have plenty of time so
socialize, unwind and unpack before registration. I ended up
joining a friend with a run to the airport to pick up a guest from
Vancouver, and then met up with more friends in the conference
center for registration before the first workshop of the weekend
“Introduction to BDSM”. This workshop was put on by Sir Scott, Don,
and Lady Susan, and although I attended the same workshop the year
before, it was drastically different, as the audience seemed to set
the tone of the discussion, raising questions and sending our
instructors off into different areas of their expertise.
After the introduction workshop, we all sat in
awe as Fifth Angel (http://www.artofbdsm.com/)
introduced us to his unique take on using pressure points in “The
Finer Points of Pleasure and Pain”. Each of the stunt bottoms who
went up to demonstrate must have had nerves of steel – I know that
more than once I was gritting my teeth watching some of the
contorted faces of those I knew as they volunteered. After the
workshop I hung around chatting with friends, before heading to the
(beautiful!) hotel room for some much-needed sleep.
Saturday presented some difficult choices, the
first set of workshops were Sir Scott’s “Spirituality and Leather”,
Peggy O’s (http://peggyakao.com/)
“Those Pesky Switches” and Steffy the Rubber Doll’s “Everything you
ever wanted to know about latex”. Since latex is something I’ve
only started becoming interested in after acquiring my first piece
from local Darkside Creations, I picked it, and wasn’t
disappointed. Stephan (aka Steffy) had a huge wardrobe of pieces to
drool over and examine, as well as a wealth of information about
buying, caring for and repairing latex clothing.
For the second morning workshop, I was torn
between Elwood’s (http://www.allaboutelwood.com/)
“History of Body Modification” and Mistress Taz’s “Introduction to
Whips” workshops. Since I didn’t own my own whip, I hesitated, but
was able to borrow one from a friend, and had a fantastic time in
the workshop – especially since I was one of only two bottoms in the
workshop! Between safety cautions and great stories, Mistress Taz
demonstrated her skill with a whip, and then let us try our own hand
at it, with some willing balloon victims for us to try our stuff
on.
After the whip workshop, I went for lunch in
the food court of the attached mall with some friends, and then
returned to take a look around the vendor’s area, and then the
afternoon’s workshops. Peggy O’s “Playing with Fear” workshop was
incredibly tempting, but I couldn’t resist going to Elwood’s “Body
Branding” workshop instead. I would have to say that this workshop
was the highlight of the week – one of those workshops that sent me
away with so many thoughts about something that up until that point
was a definite hard limit! Elwood is a fantastic presenter,
covering all the basics, answering all the questions, taking care of
the stunt bottom… all with a great sense of humor. He demonstrated
three method, using strike branding, monobuxtion and a cautery pen
to create a beautiful Haida-art inspired frog on the shoulder of a
lovely willing victim.
After such a fantastic workshop, I decided to
push my limits once again, and attended Elwood’s third workshop of
the weekend “Play Piercing”. Once again Elwood was a fantastic
presenter, teaching a lot of safety techniques, as well as going
over the ins and outs of avoiding cross-contamination. We then
broke into teams, and with an area properly prepared, proceeded to
do a little (and for some teams… a lot) of lab scenes with the
provided needles.
After some dinner, my friends and I got ready
for and then went to Absolute Kink III. Absolute Kink is a party
held in the conference center and is presented by B&D Emporium. I
was nervous, and thrilled to be able to participate in one of the
evening’s fantasy presentations, but then was back in my element
socializing with friends, and wishing more than once that I had a
ball gag to save me from myself! I don’t think I’ll ever live down
mistaking one person for another!
The next morning I slept in after such an
active night, and ended up missing Sir Andrew’s “Grouse Flogging”
workshop, and Fifth Angel’s final workshop of the weekend “Combining
BDSM and Martial Arts” which I was later told was an incredible
workshop. We then attended the brunch and awards ceremony where
different individuals were recognized for the work that they’d done
throughout the year and years previous.
Some friends and I then headed off to help set
up for the night’s private party. There were a number of people
helping out, and it was great to see some old friends I hadn’t seen
in almost 5 years…. so the set up took a bit longer than
anticipated!
Upon my return to the hotel I took some time to
shower and change, and headed down to catch the last half of the
Lupercalia celebration – and was astounded at all of the different
Roman themed costumes the attendees had come up with. A friend of
mine from Calgary even won a prize for best costume! Although I
didn’t participate, I watched as a number of my friends from Calgary
and Edmonton went through the different stations, trying out
everything from wax and violet wands to whips and take downs.
That evening, there was a private party that
was separate from the Lupercalia event itself. The party was
incredible, and there were a number of people there trying out the
different techniques that they had learnt throughout the weekend’s
workshops. The party is private though… so there’s not much I can
tell you if you weren’t there!
Overall, it was an incredible weekend, and
because tickets always sell out so quickly, I’m watching the website
to see when tickets go on sale for next year! Thanks so much to the
great people I spent the weekend with, and all the organizers and
volunteers for making this a fantastic weekend!
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