OpenSF 2012 Events

See below for the OpenSF caucuses!

 

Affiliated Events

 


Pink Play Party

www.missioncontrolsf.org

Friday June 8th, 10:00pm-3:00am
PrePink Workshop, 9:00pm-10:00pm

Pink is NOT at the hotel! See the transit page for details on getting to and from Pink.

$20 with a conference badge, $30 otherwise
FREE for Mission Control Allies
Discount Presale Ticket Link (there will be a processing charge)

You MUST show your conference badge at the door for the discount
You MUST be a member and bring a PAL
21+

The ever popular and intimate Pink party is back Friday, June 8th at Mission Control! We’re inviting both the Mission Control folks and the conference attendees to relax into a mellow, intimate night of conversation, dancing, and playful exploration. Pink is pansexual, queer, poly, kink, vanilla, straight, lifestyle, and fetish friendly. Pink is held at Mission Control, a party-dedicated space which combines a fun and social party area with a set of decked-out playrooms.

In order to attend parties at Mission Control, one must become a member, which is easy and can be done at this link. Also, Mission Control works on the buddy system, so you must attend with a PAL, who can be anyone you trust.

At this Pink there will be a pre-Pink playshop included in the party cost: Keeping Play Parties Playful, led by the the ever-awesome Marcia Baczynski!

Also, we are doing something special and lining up a couple conference presenters to do demonstrations. Mr. Allan will be doing a male anal fisting demo, and Maggie and Ned Mayhem will be doing a demo on playing with liquid nitrogen! This is going to be a unique and amazing party.

While it is located in the Mission district a short bus hop away from the conference, the exact Mission Control location is a quasi-secret! You will be told the location when you become a Mission Control member, or feel free to ask the conference staff.

Mission Control never serves alcohol, but feel free to bring your own! There is no dress code for this party.

 


Poly Speed Dating

www.polyspeeddating.com

Saturday June 9th, 6:00pm-10:00pm
You MUST arrive by 6:30pm to date!
At the Holiday Inn

FREE for conference attendees, $15 otherwise
You MUST pre-register to date!

There is no reason that the complexities of our non-monogamous lifestyles should prevent us from engaging in the celebrated act of SPEED DATING. Using a complex algorithm hand tailored for your satisfaction we can make this dream a reality. Our speed dating system will take into account gender preferences, individual/group preference, and age ranges. All sexualities, genders, and hair colors are welcome.

Despite the origination of this event in the poly community, all types of non-monogamous folks are welcome and tend to get a lot (of later dates and hookups!) out of speed dating.

In poly speed dating, you go on five-minute "dates" with a number of people. After each date, you write down whether or not you would like to meet with your date again. If both of you write down yes, then we send you each others' emails after the event!

Registration for speed dating is separate from conference registration and must be done before the event. Once you buy your conference ticket, you should receive an email in a couple days from the Poly Speed Dating system with registration instructions. Also, please read the speed dating FAQ.

 


Nina Hartley at the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance Reception

www.woodhullalliance.org

Saturday June 9th, 6:00pm-9:00pm

At the Holiday Inn
26th Floor Suite
Food and drink provided

We are pleased to announce that the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance will be visiting OpenSF and holding a reception Saturday night. Woodhull is one of the very few national advocacy organizations which are seriously addressing the political situation for non-monogamous (swinger, poly, BDSM, sex workers, queer, etc) people. Woodhull is using a political strategy of linking sexual freedom rights to international human rights treaties, which is quite promising. Also, they have been working on raising the visibility of various types of non-monogamy as part of this campaign.

Please take a look at the Woodhull Alliance website and consider supporting them.

Woodhull's reception at OpenSF will be hosted by Nina Hartley, a board member of Woodhull who is well known as a sex educator and porn sensation. You can read about Nina on Wikipedia, check out her primary porn site, and follow her on twitter @ninaland!

We will be holding this reception in a relatively small space, and while it looks like we will be fine for numbers, we encourage you to RSVP to woodhull@open-sf.org with your badge name to ensure a spot.

 


Love Triangle: Speakeasy Dance Club

www.lovetrianglesf.com

Saturday June 9th, 9:00pm-2:00am

Blue Macaw Dance Club, 2565 Mission St
FREE with conference badge, $8 without
21+

See the transit page for details on getting to and from Love Triangle.

Dig out your little hats and put on your pinstripes! Love Triangle is bringing Prohibition-era excess back to San Francisco with our next party: Speakeasy! Come on in for the moonshine and swing with the non-monogamous underground!

Love Triangle is a one-of-a-kind event, a dance club for nonmonogamous people! Love Triangle has been filling clubs with poly, open, and swinger types for two years. It is amazing to be in a space full of people like us - dancing, drinking, and flirting! The shared connection means the event is much more friendly and welcoming than your average club, and we always have a great time. Because this event will bring in both locals and conference-goers, we expect it to be very large, and not to be missed!

DJ Tomas Diablo (Strangelove) and DJ Saint James (Limelight / Click + Drag NYC) will be adding some ragtime and swing into the usual mix of 80's, goth, pop, and electro.

Dressing up is encouraged but not required: prohibition era clothing, gangsters, flappers, hats, pinstripes. Freaky, formal, and fetish are always welcome.

 


Cuddle Connection

cuddle.theplayfulcircle.com

Sunday June 10th, 6:30pm-10:00pm
At the Holiday Inn

Led by: Yvonne Shevnin

A Cuddle Party is: A structured, safe workshop on boundaries, communication, intimacy, and affection. A drug and alcohol-free way to meet fascinating people in a relaxing environment. A laboratory where you can experiment with what makes you feel safe and feel good. This playful, fun workshop has been a place for people to rediscover non-sexual touch and affection, a space to reframe assumptions about men and women, and a great networking event to meet new friends, roommates, business partners, and significant others.

The Cuddle Connection event will remind you of a Cuddle Party, however, due to time constraints the workshop portion will be shortened. For cuddle-veterans, it will still be the sweet, oxytocin-generating, cuddle fest you know and love. For newbies, it will be a clothes-on workshop on boundaries, communication, and intimacy skills and just generally about having fun.

Cuddle Connection pricing is:

Yvonne Shevnin is a certified Cuddle Party facilitator and has been offering this workshop, to delighted cuddlers, since 2006. The website for Cuddle Party events in the South Bay and Santa Cruz is cuddle.theplayfulcircle.com. Yvonne offers other workshops and coaching in Compassionate Communication as well as Boundaries, Communication, and Intimacy Skills Building. She has recently been exploring Network for New Culture because the current culture inspires pessimism. Yvonne believes we create our own reality, and to the extent we can own that point-of-view, the more happiness we experience. Yvonne is playful, smart, confident, loving, generous, and tries to live in acceptance of what is. Yvonne has a web application development business, PointsConnected, and has been a technical consultant, serving a variety of businesses, from startups to Fortune 500s, since 1994.

 


Caucuses

We are pleased to announce a number of very interesting attendee-led caucus events at OpenSF! All of these will be held on Sunday in the caucus room, which is named Portola. They should be available on the website soon. Check them out!

 

Poly Parents Meetup

11:15am - 12:15pm
hosted by Sierra

Join other poly folks with kids for an informal discussion group. Meet friends and allies! Share parenting strategies. Compare notes on hot topics like scheduling date nights and introducing kids to new partners. This meet-up will provide parents with a chance to share resources, make social connections and hang out with kindred spirits.

 

People of Color Meetup

12:30pm - 2:15pm
hosted by Stacy

Are you non-monogamous and a person of color? Want to connect with other folks of color (including biracial and multicultural people) attending the conference? Then join us for this casual get together in the caucus room!

 

Sober Caucus

1:15pm - 2:15pm
hosted by Erin

Sometimes it can be trickier to connect with folks when you're socializing in spheres where alcohol and/or recreational drugs are a given and you prefer to abstain. Whether you've chosen a substance-free lifestyle or you're in recovery from a chemical addiction, let's get together and talk about the unique challenges, pressures, and rewards of non-monogamous dating and relating while not "under the influence".

 

Oral Cancer Self-Exam Skills

2:30pm - 3:30pm
Hosted by Elizabeth

Oral cancer often goes undetected until it is too late and those cancers linked to HPV (genital warts) exposure are on the rise, especially among young people. Find out more about the risks, the link to HPV, and how to perform a simple (and sexy) oral self-exam. Elizabeth is a polyamory organizer and activist for the San Francisco peninsula. She is currently studying to become a Dental Hygienist and she seeks to provide education and low-cost care to the community.

 

Non-Monogamy Doctor Is In

2:30pm - 3:30pm
Hosted by Alex

New to polyamory? Want to open your relationship? Struggling with jealousy? Bring your questions to Alex Korsunskaya, a queer, kinky, poly psychotherapist specializing in open relationships. Brief personalized coaching Sunday at 2:30pm in the caucus room.

 

Discussion of Disability, Chronic Illness (or Health), and Non-Monogamy

3:45pm - 4:45pm
Hosted by David

Discussion group for people practicing or interested in non-monogamy with disabilities or health issues. How do you make it work? How have your health or ability concerns influenced you and your partners? What have been the rewards and penalties? David Spero has been a nurse for 35 years, has authored multiple books, and has lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) for 25 years. He credits non-monogamy with saving his marriage, improving their lives and creating additional career opportunities focused in writing and counseling about sex and illness.

 

Poly Researchers Discussion

5:00pm - 6:00pm
Hosted by Leanna

Come meet fellow polyamory researchers! Discuss research topics, methodologies and the state of our unique subculture. Seasoned researchers, researcher wanna-bees and people with theoretical questions all welcome! Led by Dr. Leanna Wolfe.