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FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
Where does An Unholy Harvest take place?
Where should I stay when I come to Ottawa?
I've never been to an event like this and I'm terrified. What will happen to me when I show up?
What are you doing to make Harvest more accessible for people with disabilities?
I'd love to give a workshop or lead a discussion at An Unholy Harvest. How do I send in a proposal?
Where does An Unholy Harvest take place?
An Unholy Harvest takes place in one main venue and one satellite venue located a couple of blocks apart from one another in central downtown Ottawa.
Where should I stay when I come to Ottawa?
We’ll block off rooms in two hotels nearby for attendees in case you’ll need a place to stay. More information will be forthcoming when we open registration on June 15.
Room-sharing
Once your registration form and payment have been received, we’ll send you an e-mail inviting you to join the Yahoo! group set up exclusively for attendees. Please join. Lots of info will be made available there, and it will save us a lot of time to be able to send everything out to all attendees at once. Also, it’s a great place to hook up!
I’ve never been to an event like this and I’m terrified. What will happen to me when I show up?
One of our priorities at An Unholy Harvest is to make sure that we’re welcoming to novice players and people who are otherwise new to the leather scene. We cultivate a warm and friendly atmosphere and we actively work to encourage first-timers to screw up their nerve and attend. If that means you—well, consider yourself encouraged!
We welcome a wonderful diversity of participants, so nobody will expect you to look, act or play “just like everyone else.” There’s no dress code for the weekend so you don’t need a closetful of expensive leather gear to fit in. We run a “Fresh Meet” workshop first thing on Saturday morning with plenty of get-to-know-you games to help get you started, along with tips on how to meet and cruise people and just generally have a good time over the weekend. And there will be a number of workshops that are especially welcoming to new players, whether you’re looking to understand the mechanics of swinging a flogger or deepen your perspective on dominant/submissive dynamics. Last but not least, we’ve got a fabulous team of PICs (People In Charge) who can be readily identified by their PIC hankies all weekend and who are there to help you out if you’ve got questions or concerns.
What are you doing to make Harvest more accessible for people with disabilities?
As we gear up for our 2009 event, we’re looking to make Harvest as accessible as possible to people with a range of dis/abilities, within the limits of the kink-friendly spaces available in Ottawa. Here are the measures we’re taking:
We were unable to secure the services of a local accessibility audit service to conduct a full accessibility audit of the spaces we use and of An Unholy Harvest as a whole. Instead, we will be using an online checklist to conduct a self-audit, and we will post an update as soon as possible.
At the moment, our main space, Breathless, is not wheelchair-accessible; the entrance is up a wide flight of 25-30 stairs (exact number TBC) and the bathrooms are not sized to accommodate a wheelchair. Once inside, the space is large and open and has no raised areas or steps.
We have two satellite spaces booked, located just around the corner from Breathless. Two-thirds of our daytime workshops on Saturday and Sunday will be held in those satellite spaces—specifically, the AIDS Committee of Ottawa (ACO) offices and the Pink Triangle Services (PTS) offices, both housed at 251 Bank Street. The building is fully wheelchair-accessible, with a short ramp into the front door, elevators in the lobby for access to the two spaces, and wheelchair-accessible bathrooms in each space.
We will be making a few copies of our program available in large print on site. Please let us know when you register if you will need one!
Our dungeon rules will be printed up in a large-print poster-size format and posted in a visible area in the dungeon.
We believe the lighting at Breathless is sufficient for good visibility, but we’ll make the necessary adjustments if our audit shows that’s not the case.
We were only able to secure a list of kink-friendly ASL interpreters at the last minute; their availability is doubtful for the 2009 edition of Harvest. If you would like to attend An Unholy Harvest and you need ASL interpretation, please drop us a line at unholyharvest@yahoo.ca to let us know, and we’ll make sure to keep you updated as we go.
We will be encouraging our presenters to provide written handouts for their workshops, as well as to take additional measures to ensure that their presentations are as accessible as possible for people who are Deaf and hard of hearing.
For the second year in a row, we’ll be offering a workshop within our weekend program to increase awareness of the realities of people with dis/abilities in the world at large as well as within the BDSM community.
We’ll be updating this section on an ongoing basis as we find answers to our questions and come up with new plans, so check back often or write us a note at unholyharvest@yahoo.ca if you have any specific questions or concerns!
I’d love to give a workshop or lead a discussion at An Unholy Harvest. How do I send in a proposal?
We’re actively seeking presenters for the 2009 edition of An Unholy Harvest. Just fill out our handy Presentation Proposal Form, downloadable here, and e-mail it to unholyharvest@yahoo.ca. We are very much open to hearing your ideas! Also, we’re very supportive of first-time presenters… don’t be shy to inquire.
Please note that while presenters from outside Canada are welcome to submit proposals, we will give first priority to Canadian presenters. We especially encourage submissions from residents of the Prairies, the Atlantic provinces and the Territories. Please note that our deadline for submission is July 31, 2009.
I’d really like to attend some of the weekend’s events, but not all of them. Can I pay a partial registration fee just for the parties or just for the workshops?
An Unholy Harvest is intended to be a full-weekend experience. With that in mind, we don’t sell partial packages. Of course you’re welcome to register and then show up to only the events that most interest you, but we really encourage you to immerse yourself in the leatherdykery!
I’m on a limited income and I can’t afford your registration fee. Is there anything you can do for me?
Information about our scholarships program will be available when registration opens on June 15.
I registered, but my family is insisting that I join them for turkey dinner so I have to cancel. What’s your cancellation policy?
If you cancel your registration prior to September 30, you are entitled to a 75% refund; we will retain 25% of your fee. Registration fees are not refundable after September 30.
I’m not registered, but a whole bunch of my friends are coming up for the weekend. Can I just attend a play party or film screening with them?
Unfortunately, we cannot admit non-attendees to any events, both for safety and legal reasons. If you’re not a registered participant, you will be turned away at the door (even if you’re super hot and even if we like you!). We encourage you to register for the weekend and enjoy as much of it as you can!
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