Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Reflections on the 2022 Vancouver Fetish Weekend

Sun. Sweat. Sexiness. Rubber. Fun. Friendship. 

Sweat. 

Did I mention sweat? Maybe that's just me.

This is the Vancouver Fetish Weekend in a nutshell. I am still decompressing after an absolutely phenomenal weekend. Once again, Vancouver weather absolutely came through (I can't actually remember a VFW with crappy weather) and after a three-year hiatus, the event proved itself worthy of belonging on the international fetish event calendar.

Starting with the Thursday night meet and greet, I got dressed up in my leather catsuit that I made last October and have only worn one time since (Halloween). It's such a different vibe in leather. Equally as hot in latex, but you notice the sweat more. The leather gets wet and you can tell. With latex the material is so tight on your skin that you can't really tell the fabric from your own body...except the sweat that pours out of every crease and opening (for me, anyway).

It was so great to see a bunch of people I hadn't connected with in years, including Observer and playfulrubberdoll and a host of others. It's hard to fathom the amount of time that the pandemic occupied and ruined in terms of social interaction, and I carried with me the appreciation for personal contact throughout the weekend. 

Friday night at the Imperial was fairly typical in terms of the vibe (it's the home of the monthly Sin City fetish nights) but what made it special was being at my first fetish night with Mistress Miko. It felt so good to be on Her leash and we spent the evening relaxing and enjoying the occasional conversation and some play in between observing the other kinksters strutting around in their finery. 

I skipped the Saturday photo walk and instead arrived at Mistress Miko's hotel room early to help set up for a shiny gathering of some sexy rubberist friends. After getting rubberized, the guests showed up and we enjoyed some time in conversation and taking photos. 



What a delicious crew!

We headed to the venue by foot (it was only 5 minutes away) and were impressed with the space. It's a huge room with an amazing stage and sound system. It could have easily fit another thousand people in there, though that would have been a bit much. I wore my pony gear for part of the night and, despite modifications to my Punitive Shoes pony boots, I was only able to last around 30 minutes before tapping out from exhaustion and leg soreness (and to allow Mistress Miko to enjoy Her evening instead of caretaking a semi-crippled human pony). I am still stiff. I'll need to find some more sensible pony shoes for club nights. After we left late, Her and I adjourned to Her hotel room and talked until 5:30 am. I drove home as the sun came up and noted how rare it was that I had the sun in my eyes when driving East. 

After another night of not enough sleep, I woke up and prepared for the Sunday Fetish Cruise. Always a winner of an event, I couldn't wait to get out on the water in latex surrounded by amazing weirdos and fantastic music. We boarded and spent the next three hours conversing, dancing, observing, playing, flirting and just in awe at the surroundings and situation. If you only go to one event at VFW, make it the cruise. It is not to be missed! I experience being an ashtray for the first time (actually having the cigar ashed in my mouth and being put out on my tongue). It wasn't nearly as gross as I thought it would be (was really no big deal!) and I looked forward to doing it again. I won't lie, but it helped to be clamped and gagged and facing a beautiful Mistress in latex while it happened. I know. Shocker.

Overall the weekend was a great success, and I have to throw massive kudos to Isaac and Trish for putting it together in only five months. A monumental effort and something they make look easy time after time. 

This year was also the first VFW that I experienced as a local. I moved to Vancouver with my family in the summer of 2020 but, due to Covid, the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled. It was super nice to sleep in my own bed every night and save an absolute shit tonne of money in hotels. Vancouver is hideously expensive to visit in the summer months and I truly admire and appreciate the out-of-towners who made the effort to join us!

As always, I made some new friends, and I think this is the true legacy of big parties like this. Some people you see over and over at fetish events, and then one day you chat and realize that you have so much in common. It happens organically in most cases, and the community that arises out of our shared love of latex, hedonism, playfulness, respect, openness, and depravity keeps us together even when we are apart.

We are all seeking (whether consciously or not) connection – a bond with others that gives us the strength to share our true selves and express our deepest, most taboo natures. This is what the fetish community fosters and what we all need to protect. Congregating in large numbers and celebrating our kinks is one of the most enjoyable things we can do. We all have something special to offer and knowing that we can all absolutely rock our magic without judgement is just so fucking amazing.

On a personal level (and without getting into too much detail), I relished in the confidence I have been able to build since the winter and the freedom that comes with realizing one's self-worth and not selling one's self out. There are people who will try to use and manipulate you and, if you let them, they will take everything. Fuck those people. You deserve better.

See you in 2023, but hopefully sooner!


Reflections on the 2022 Vancouver Fetish Weekend

Sun. Sweat. Sexiness. Rubber. Fun. Friendship.  Sweat.  Did I mention sweat? Maybe that's just me. This is the Vancouver Fetish Weekend ...