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Workshops & Activities
Workshops
Corsets, Kites, and Wings: Advanced Needle Play
Ingrid Olson and Anna Peak
Bored with basic needle play? Feeling the need to experiment and take needles in another direction, to another level? “Corsets, Kites, and Wings” is an intermediate-to-advanced needle workshop providing instruction, ideas, and hands-on needle play. We will provide instruction on needle corsets, decorative needle wings, and intensive needle-pulling. This workshop welcomes tips and techniques from experienced kinksters as an opportunity to share ideas, develop creative needle scenes, and scheme sadomasochistic mischief.
Create A Class!
You!
You came all the way to Harvest, and now that you’re here, you’re feeling inspired… and you want to lead a discussion, or facilitate a skill-sharing session, or teach people that fun technique you like so much. Well, we’ve got room for you! On Saturday night, we’ll put up a whiteboard in the main venue, and you can add your name and topic into your preferred Sunday afternoon slot. We’ve got two slots, but if there are more than two people, those slots can be shared. So don’t be shy… show us what you’ve got!
D.I.Y. SM Porn
Anna Peak
When we create kinky smut we have more to think about than safety, negotiation, and aftercare. How do we want to represent the power in being a bottom on film? Do we want to show how vulnerable a sadist is? Is it possible to give an impression of internal conflicts? Or what it feels like to be blindfolded in a medium that is all about visuality? Is it neccessary to prove how incredibly safe, sane and consensual we are because we feel the need to explain the ethics of our community yet again? Or can we talk about the fact that we are also fucked-up, imperfect humans? In this workshop you will learn you how to write a rough porn script draft. I will not be able to teach you how to shoot a movie... I will provide a D.I.Y. guidebook on how to to do that though. There are not enough good kinky porn movies out there; let’s change that!
Dyke Cocksucking!
Susan
Back by popular demand this interactive workshop will ask the radical question, “Can you say ‘dyke’ with her cock in your mouth?” We believe the answer is an overwhelming YES! (Or... YESH... that distinctive “s” can be a bit of a challenge...) Come discover the wonderful world of cock—whether it’s your best sil dil or the lime green gag gift from your 40th birthday, we’ll show you how to suck it. The object of your desire may be physical or metaphysical but the power of the phallus is something we should all have the opportunity to play with.
We will discuss safety, technique, performance and the beauty of being wet and hard all at the same time. This will be a hands-, lips-, teeth- and tongues-on workshop so bring a cock, attached or not. Yummy clit-cocks and other non-corporeal cocks are also most welcome. *This workshop was the brainchild of Sarah Pie and will be presented by Susan with the help of Sarah and her cocks.
Fisting
Abby and Christa
What is fisting? How is it done? This workshop will provide participants with a brief presentation on fisting (including anatomy, equipment, safety, vaginal fisting, anal fisting, etc.), a demonstration of vaginal fisting, and a question and answer session. Handouts containing the presentation section as well as an FAQ and educational resources will be distributed.
Fresh Meet
Jacqueline St-Urbain
So you screwed up your courage and you came to Harvest—well, now what? How do you talk to that cutie in the corner?? This workshop will discuss how to pick up in SM situations, and set up some situations for you to make new friends. Come meet your fellow attendees, scope out the hotties and mix it up a little! Whether you’re a top, a bottom, a switch or a newbie, join this interactive session and come get more than your feet wet!
Kink in the Academy: The Beginnings of an Anthropology of BDSM
Claire Dalmyn
In this presentation I will invite conversation on the subject of academic research on BDSM in the social sciences, particularly anthropology. I will begin with a synopsis of the work I’ve done so far, based on available published research and interviews with fellow participants in BDSM communities in Winnipeg, as well as my own experience. I’ll give a very brief introduction to a few key theoretical concepts, a summary of the project’s history, and a discussion of some of the results of the study. The latter will focus on the themes of consent, eroticism and power exchange in discourse on BDSM, the construction of BDSM practice as “play,” and the absence of psychopathological explanations for practice on the part of interview participants. I will also briefly outline my plans and hopes for the future, before devoting the majority of the session to interactive discussion. This session will give participants so inclined an excuse to nerd out and engage in steamy theoretical debate!
Leathercrips: Who We Are, Why We Matter and How to Show Respect to and Play with People with Disabilities
Ms. Pet
This workshop will discuss issues and realities of kinksters with disabilities, and how to show basic respect to and play with a partner that has disabilities. It will introduce people to the Disability Pride movement, to the concept of Leathercrips and their role as second-wave sex radicals, and how the positioning of BDSM as “abuse” is inherently an ablist and prejudiced concept that denies the sexual and physical realities of people with disabilities (PWDs).
Long-Distance Relationships – Now THAT’s Kinky!
Charlie
It seems that long-distance relationships (LDRs) are more prevalent these days. Perhaps we can attribute that to the Internet, or a greater tendency to travel, and sometimes people move away... This can be quite the challenge (or a blessing!) when you’re vanilla, but when you’re kinky – power/pain/fetish/other – the difficulties seem to be even greater. And we haven’t even talked about poly relationships!
I am interested in hearing about how you deal with your LDR. What are the difficulties you’ve encountered? What have you tried so far? What’s worked, what hasn’t? What is particular to power dynamics that is easier or more difficult to translate through the distance and between the visits?
Join us for what promises to be quite a thought-provoking discussion!
Making an Impact
Andrea Zanin
If you’re a kinky person who likes to hit or be hit, this is the workshop for you, novices and old hands alike. You’ll discover the three essential aspects of making an impact, get a tour of the wide range of implements you might want to use, and learn about how to hit safely and effectively. Of course we’ll talk about bodies and toys, but most importantly, we’ll get into the psychology of hitting and discuss how to put together the kinds of impact-play scenes that really work for your particular kinks. Packed with demos and highly interactive, this workshop is guaranteed to give you plenty of exciting ideas for your impact play!
Play Safe with Safe Play
MediKaT
This workshop covers safety, broadly defined: medical, physical and emotional. Learn tips and tricks for recognizing physical and emotional warning signs, and learn how to prevent damage on both levels as well. Topics may include basic First Aid, when to call for help, interacting with paramedics on the scene and creating a basic First Aid kit specific to play. This interactive workshop will be taught by an experienced paramedic.
Practical Bondage Magic
Sarah Pie
We love the cermony and the sensuality of rope play. We love the aesthetic appeal and the physical manifestation of control. We love the tightness. We love having convenient handles. So why on earth aren’t we using more bondage in our scenes? I hear ya—takes too long, distracts from the primary intent of the scene, pins-and-needles at inopportune moments…
Let’s have our cake and eat it too—this workshop will present techniques, suitable for all levels of top or bottom, to add some tasty bondage to a variety of activies from flogging to fucking. We’ll start with a discusssion of which elements we want to enhance in our D/s and SM scenes, and then proceed to learn a couple of simple ties and apply them in imaginative ways.
If you have bondage implements, bring them: rope, scarves, ties, belts... Practice on yourself, or bring a friend!
Role Play 101
Ericka Black
This workshop is designed for people who have thought about role playing, but have never really tried it. It will discuss the advantages of role play, integrating role play into other forms of play and will include interactive scenarios. Bring yourself, bring your props, and by the end of the session you’ll have at least one scene ready to go.
Sacred Exchange
Anika Bergstrom
Relationships of ongoing power exchange are ripe with opportunities for spiritual growth and practice. We’ll explore five areas where spirituality might intersect with mindful power exchange: attunement, humility, devotion, stewardship and discernment. These are qualities that can be deliberately cultivated to enrich and inform your relationship with power regardless of which side of the M/s or D/s dynamic you favour.
Since this is a participatory workshop and with more questions for you than answers, you’ll get the most out of the experience if you spend some time beforehand considering what those five words mean to you and how you experience them in everyday life: at home, with your partner in power, at work, or anywhere else they seem to be important to you.
The Call to Serve
Mitch
Making a gourmet seven-course meal… providing the perfect pedicure… even scrubbing the toilet… for some of us, service is a kink. For some it’s a calling. What motivates us to serve? What makes for good service? Where do the challenges lie in providing it? How do we improve and deepen our service, or find new and exciting ways to channel it? How do we like our service to be taken up, shaped or corrected? Whether you’re currently in a service-based relationship (or want to be), you like to do it on the weekends sometimes, or you’re just curious about the topic, come and join us for a facilitated discussion in which we’ll talk about all these questions and more.
Activities
Note: all the following activities will take place at Breathless. As they are all happening over meal times, you are welcome to bring take-out food or bagged meals to enjoy.
Kinky Swap
Saturday 12:30-2 p.m.
Join us for your biggest-ever kinky swap! You were all invited to go through your closets, toybags and bookshelves to dig out all the stuff you’re not really using anymore and toss it in the swap pile. Now’s the time to get your hands on all the cool stuff! Just imagine the amount of awesome gear that will find its way out of 80+ people’s closets and into the pile for you to pick from!
Don’t worry if you don’t have anything to contribute – this isn’t a one-for-one exchange. Some people are sure to have a lot to get rid of while others are going to come gearless and walk away fully kitted out. Even if you don’t want to get in on the grabbing, the joy of watching a huge bunch of hotties take off their clothing and try on hot “new” items is a reason to come all on its own! The leftover items will be donated to a local women’s shelter.
Porn screening
Saturday 6-8:30 p.m.
Trans Entities: The Nasty Love of Papí and Wil by Morty Diamond
“Diamond’s documentary-style porno love story about two sex radicals who consider themselves male, female, both, and neither (…) It’s the best transporn film I’ve ever seen, mostly because of the way we get to know the couple through Diamond’s intimate, interview-driven story. Frank, articulate, and madly in love, Papí and Wil talk about being kinky, polyamorous people of color—from BDSM to spirituality, no topic is off-limits, including their genders. They both haven't changed their bodies with hormones or surgeries, and feel comfortable moving in and out of masculinity and femininity. (…) The sex flows easily in and out of the narrative, which is well-paced and well-edited. Boundaries figure prominently in Trans Entities (…) (and) the focus is on exploring sexual taboos, physical limits, and power.”
(From Tristan Taormino’s review: http://mortydiamond.com/movies.html)
Come Over to the Dark Side Panel
Sunday 12:30-2 p.m.
BDSM gatherings like An Unholy Harvest feature workshops about all manner of intriguing kinky topics given by a range of presenters, teachers, demonstrators and discussion facilitators. Have you ever thought about being one of them? If you’re considering the idea of becoming a presenter, or even if you’re just curious about what it takes to make that step, come and join us for this interactive panel discussion with several of this year’s presenters. We’ll talk about what makes a good presenter, what inspired existing presenters to get started, and how presenters pick the topics they teach about and build workshops around them, just for starters. Come with your own questions and we’ll talk about those too. This session is designed to encourage and inspire you, the next generation of kinky presenters, to screw up your courage and start teaching!
Erotica Open Mic
Sunday 6-8:30 p.m.
At the Erotica Open Mic, you – yes, you! – provide the entertainment. Just how nasty are your fantasies? Just how daring is your prose? And just how hot do you think you can get everyone before the weekend’s last play party? Come show off your verbal prowess! Whether you’re a first-time writer or you churn out fresh porn every weekend, this is definitely where you should be sharing it.
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