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Kelowna  

Kelowna has attracted the first ever Kink Fest to the Interior

Venue pulls plug on kinky

UPDATE 12:14 p.m.

The organizer of the Interior Kink Fest, Susan has reached out to Castanet to let us know that they are now looking for a new venue to host  their event, " as a result of this article, the hotel cancelled our event..."

Castanet has reached out to ensure the event is still going on but it appears Kelowna is not ready for this type of event but if there are any kink-friendly venues willing to step up organizers can be reached via their Facebook site.


ORIGINAL 5:00 a.m.

Kelowna will be getting kinky at the end of March.

For the first time ever, Kelowna will host the Interior Kink Fest on March 28, targeted at those interested in bondage and sado-masochism, fetish and sex-positivity featuring top educators and quality kinky vendors.

Susan, the marketing manager for the Interior Kinkfest asked us not to use her last name, "people have varying levels of openness depending on their life and their job and what not and we are very respectful of everyone's privacy."

This is the first time anything like this has been done outside of the Metro Vancouver area and Susan says it's nice to have something like this in the community, "we have a good relationship with the venue and they have agreed to give us the privacy and security that we want."

The event has an emphasis on workshops and education but people are also encouraged to "dress up" for the parties and the event climaxes with an electrifying dungeon party.  

Classes Include:

  • Medical Play
  • Rope Bondage
  • Flogging
  • Impact Play

"There has been lots of interest especially since 50 shades of Grey so it's nice to bring people some education so they can learn to do things safely and I can't stress enough the value of getting to know people who are already in the community," Susan says. "To me, Kelowna always seems a little conservative on the outside but there is definitely a good core local group here."

Organizers have capped the event at 250 people and are expecting attendees from the coast, Kamloops and Alberta but it is not open to the general public and a whole section of the hotel is booked to ensure privacy.  If attendees want to leave the main area in the hotel they will have to go out in street clothes and unauthorized cameras are not permitted.

To the uninitiated, the event may sound wild, but Susan says don't let your imagination run away with you, "I don't know if I'd use wild, the educational aspect and workshops are really quite tame other than the content isn't what you'd expect in a lot of classrooms."

Susan says when she got into the BDSM lifestyle, she wasn't looking for sexual experiences, "it was nice to have a connection with people in a way that was safe and different and have my boundaries respected."

She says it can take a long time for some people to work up the nerve to go to an event like this one, "typically we encourage people who want to learn more to go to what we call munches, that happen in a pub setting so they can get to know each other as a person first. People don't generally move to the next level until trust is established."

Unlike in the online dating world, once connections are created in the BDSM fetish world, they tend to last a long time, "I think a lot of people who aren't part of this community tend to misjudge and think that it's a wild free for all and that's just not the case. When I first started I was overwhelmed by all the talking we did prior."

To date ticket sales have been strong, there are only 250 tickets available and if this year's event is a success Susan says it could become an annual event.  



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