Temptrik is pleased to announce the schedule for the upcoming Kink Moot Conference on March 4th. We’ve got an exciting list of presenters here and some fantastic workshops you won’t want to miss. There are limited seats for the workshops and tickets are selling faster and faster as the event approaches so make sure to grab your tickets ASAP before they run out.

12-1:30 Mel Cassidy’s Whose Desire is it Anyways

1:30-2:30 Ladyfish and Fisherman’s the History of BDSM on Vancouver Island
1:30-2:30 DomforDom’s So you wanna get tied up

2:30-4 Mel Cassidy’s Navigating Complex Relationships
2:30-4 Ladyfish and Fisherman’s Riding the Wave

4-5 Ivtron: Combatting racial discrimination in the BDSM scene
4-5 Ladyfish and Fisherman’s Aging Kinksters

5-6 Mel Cassidy’s Wheel of Power and Privilege

Ladyfish and Fisherman
Ladyfish is the Founder and Executive Director of Sagacity of Victoria, the longest-running registered kink/fetish/alternative lifestyle non-profit society in British Columbia. She met her Fisherman online in 1996 and moved from upstate New York in 1999 to be with him. They were married in 2002 and live in Victoria, British Columbia with visiting kids, grandkids, and cats. Ladyfish is an editor and co-owner of Fishability Inc. She has been wiggling her now wrinkly fins in the BDSM water for years, enjoys many facets of kink, and is probably the oldest woman ever invited to “hang” from the ceiling at Victoria art shows.

Fisherman has an MBA in knowledge management, he is a consummate geek, and is the other half of Fishability Inc. He is also a Founder of Sagacity and has presented workshops on everything from rope to BDSM 101. Besides being very adept at whips and ropes, Fisherman is a Master of putting up with never-ending peccadilloes of Ladyfish. For a grandpa, he still looks pretty hot in a kilt…with or without his Sponge Bob undies.

Ladyfish and Fisherman have made friends and contacts all over the world and are dedicated to spreading the word about the joys and humor of kink and the BDSM lifestyle! In 2017, they were humbled and honoured to be inducted into Mama’s Family in Leather (“Mama’s Canadian Fisherman” and “Mama’s Canadian Ladyfish”). Mama’s Family has leather family members in over 44 states and provinces and in over 4 countries internationally. Over the years, the Fishes have had the honor of presenting at Western Canada Power Exchange, Wicked in the West, Paradise Unbound, the University of Victoria, Camosun College, the University of Winnipeg, Lupercalia-Edmonton, the CSPC, Westcoast Bound, BIO of Vancouver, the Conference of Kink, Cornucopia, and Susan James Inc.

The History of BDSM on Vancouver Island
As the founders of Western Canada’s longest-running BDSM organization, Ladyfish and Fisherman have been at the core of the Island BDSM community since it’s early days. Come listen to their first hand account of how our local community has developed over the decades.

Riding the Wave
oin Ladyfish and Fisherman in a workshop dedicated to the esoteric aspects of singletail play. Riding the wave…a provocative and informative journey into the mental sphere of the Top and bottom as they surf an amazing sea of power and endorphins together.

This is not a workshop about singletail techniques or singletail construction. This is a workshop that deals with the nuances and the connection needed to find and ride the perfect wave. The right tools, the right communication, the right conditions…and we’re not talking sunscreen and board wax!

When the whip comes out, Reality leaves the building and hits the surf! Come hang-ten with the Fishes!
Please not that this workshop does not require a single tail and the techniques demonstrated can be applied with other impact play toys like dragons tongues and floggers.

Aging Kinksters
Just like Ancient Mariner, kinksters get old too. Their paddles get creaky, their whips get frayed, and their bobbers stop bobbing.

Now that there are more and more BDSMers staring at the Harpoon of Age, it’s time to take a look at some of the changes that we have to make in order to weather the storm with humility and grace…or at least with a minimum of embarrassment.

Ladyfish and Fisherman are sexagenarians and proud of it. They happily invite you to join them as they troll the waters of getting older in a lifestyle that is a veritable school of challenges including nudity and gravity, arthritis, thinning hair, hearing aids, and narcolepsy. They’ll share a few tips (and a few laughs) based on their 25+ year D/s committment to each other and to the lifestyle.

Oh…and you young kinksters that think this workshop is just for old-timers? Ummm…think again! Before you can say “deviant diapers and dentures” your minnow days will be over and you’ll be dropping scales and floating downstream just like the rest of us!

Mel Cassidy
Mel Cassidy is a relationship coach and sex-positive nerd who works with queer and questioning people — and those who love them — who are exploring and practising honest, open relationships. A co-founder of the Solo Polyamory facebook group and a prolific content creator, Mel has been sharing and teaching about non-monogamy, presenting with conferences and institutions internationally, podcasts, and numerous media publications, for over a decade. Creator of The Monogamy Detox course, they are dedicated to creating somatically-integrated and trauma-sensitive spaces where all can flourish.
Mel is a mixed race immigrant-settler, of celtic and MENAHT ancestry. They are a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and explore relationships as a Solo Polyamorous Relationship Anarchist. Mel is grateful to live on the beautiful and sacred Unceded territory of the K’òmoks First Nation, which are traditional territories of the K’omoks, Pentlach, Homalco, Wei Wei Kai, Wei Wei Kum, and Tla’amin peoples — people who have been in relationship with this land and these waters for 10,000 years.

Whose desire is it anyways?
Brush up your communication and consent skills in this fun, playful, interactive session based on the Wheel of Consent. We’ll talk about what consent is, how to recognise boundaries (in yourself and in others!) and explore some communication tools to practice different ways of expressing desire and asking others to participate in an activity with you. We’ll also dive into the many ways that “No” can be said. This workshop will involve some communication roleplay, but participation is optional.

Navigating Complex Relationships
Thinking about opening up your relationship? Already in an open relationship and wondering how life got so emotionally and logistically complicated? Join us for this presentation on the complexities of multi-partner relating, where we break down some of the common causes of ‘poly drama’ and triangulation in intimate relationships, and look at real life practical strategies that you and your partners can put into practice to help everyone have nourishing and enjoyable relationships. This session features a slide show and will include time for Q&A.

Wheel of Power and Privilege
Check your privilege!
In this interactive workshop/lab you’ll have the opportunity to dive in deeper to understand the ways that privilege and power can be held by you, even when you didn’t seek them out. We’ll have a chance to identify the ways in which we each all experience privilege or lack it, based on a tool called the Wheel of Power and Privilege (originally created to support DV intervention), and explore how the different vectors of social power can impact intimacy, play, and our ability to freely give a no — or a yes! Participants will receive a copy of the Wheel of Power and Privilege to take home with them and personalise.

DomforDom
DomforDom is a femme, transgender boy who identifies as a Dominant Little and has been obsessed with rope play since early 2020. As a queer, disabled, neurodivergent, creature who resides under the poverty line, DomforDom understands what it means to navigate the social landscape from many different intersections of marginalization and is always seeking to learn more about how others experience their own. He has a passion for seeking out niche and under served corners of the community where he can learn about how others overcome their own personal barriers to practicing kink, and create unique spaces where those folx can engage, learn, and play. He currently teaches bottom-focused rope classes and runs an injury prevention, exercise based program for rope practitioners.

So you wanna get tied up
We don’t know what we don’t know, so how do we prepare ourselves to bottom in rope? There are many classes out there that address the processes leading up to a rope scene, such as negotiations, consent, how and what to tie, and basic safety. Most of these classes are geared towards rope tops, but what about the bottoms? How do we build the skills one might need to have successful experiences and progress in this role? In this class, DomforDom will take you through a number of topics that will prepare you for some common things you may encounter as a rope bottom once the rope goes on. This class will cover finding your breath, how risk changes between the ground and sky, the illusion of safety, coming down, and how to listen to what the body tells us. This class will be a combination of hands-on, self-administered demonstrations, and information sharing. As such, please bring one 30ft length of rope, fibre of choice. There will be some rope available, but the supply is limited to first come first serve. This class can be attended solo, and no previous rope experience is required.

Ivtron
Ivtron has worked for several years in human services and is a student of psychology with a strong background in harm reduction and interpersonal relations.
As supporter of the land-back movement and a long time psychedelics advocate, Ivtron has been a long time supporter of those pushed to the edges of society.
She also speaks from lived experiences regarding her previously attempts to participate in the BDSM community as someone from a visible minority. Having faced the challenges we wish to address Ivtron brings an invaluable perspective to our community on it’s path towards a more inclusive future.

Combatting Racial Discrimination in the BDSM Scene
Ivtron’s workshop focuses on the barriers facing non-white people in trying to engage with the mainstream BDSM community.
For non-white Canadians, EVERY scene they engage in is inherently race play whether they choose to be objectified in this way or not. This is due to the systems, conscious and unconscious stereotypes, and cultural norms in place that reinforce the power imbalance between white and non-white Canadians.
Ivtron is going to discuss how the culture of politeness around these issues serves to silence minority voices from being heard. We ALL participate in reinforcing this problem whether we are aware of it or not. If we are too easily offended to listen, these stories will continue to repeat themselves and we will continue to wonder why our scene trends to the monochromatic.
Rooted in her lived experience and in her in-depth research into the recent works of Black Feminist authors, Ivtron’s workshop is here to help us break down these barriers to inclusivity in our community with a sledgehammer so the real work can begin.