Geeky Kink Event
Nov. 8th, 2012 08:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sparrI've just returned from the Geeky Kink Event, a small convention in its second year in New Jersey. Delivering exactly what it says on the tin, this event is geeky and kinky. That describes both the programming and attendees, covering the spectrum from geeky to kinky and combinations of the two. The demographics of the attendees skews a bit younger than other geeky and kinky events I attend. The geeks tend to be of the internet media and fandom and video game generations, rather than the dea tree media and fannish and board game generations. The kinksters, likewise, tend to be less old-guard and lifestyle and "trained", more casual and friendly.
For reasons entirely outside their control, thanks to Hurricane Sandy, some parts of the convention this year were more impromptu than planned. The hotel regained grid electric power a few hours before the event started. The storage unit where some of the dungeon equipment is kept was recently under water, so some parts of the dungeon were outfit in a last-minute manner. Despite this, everyone involved performed admirably and the event came off remarkably well. Dealing with this situation was the number one accomplishment of the staff, as I see it.
On the side of planning, there are a few things the event could have done better. The hotel was not big enough. We sold out the hotel rooms and plenty of rooms in an overflow hotel. Additionally, many of the events, including panels and workshops and social games, needed rooms 50-200% larger than the size they were given, and some events were scheduled in the bar which was often unusable due to crowding by bar/restaurant patrons. GKE3 would benefit from a hotel at least twice the size, both in terms of hotel rooms and event space (more and larger meeting and ball rooms). Also some of the people presenting panels and workshops and organizing social events were less than stellar, which observation may be an indication of my level of convention snobbery, but was mirrored by the thoughts of some friends with less convention experience as well. I'll send all of this as feedback to the event staff, and based on my experience at the event I expect them to take such feedback seriously.
In terms of geekery, I was very happy to see it taken to a level I have not encountered at a kink event before. I saw multiple scenes take place with both (or more!) players in costume and acting in character, including Batman/villains, DC superheroes, Star Trek, Star Wars (including a violet wand light saber), misc damsels being used by a scarily realistic tentacled chair, and others. There was a maker meetup including a nice deltabot 3d printer. There was gaming, often of the strip variety.
In terms of kink, the atmosphere was a bit different than most other events I've been to. The event provided an aftercare/cuddle room half the size of the dungeon, including chairs and beds, which was amazingly inviting in ways that a smaller such space couldn't be. The dungeon was a lot more inviting of conversation, and in many cases people engaged in scenes would converse with bystanders. The hotel bathrooms were gender-neutralized. I got a stronger vibe for identity safety (no photos allowed, badges without preprinted names on them) and for play safety. I found more people willing to try new things for the sake of the new experience.
In terms of convention-y goings on, they were many and varied. In the style of fannish conventions, the vendors populated one floor of the hotel rooms, vending from stripped bedrooms. This allowed them to operate on arbitrary schedules, which was nice. Public room parties were notably absent (or low key and unadvertised). There were a few meetups for various fandoms and other kinky or geeky subgroups. There was a ball pit room, which migrated to the pool for a night. There was a 24 hour pool, with alternating times for clothing and not.
Overall I found the event enjoyable and would recommend it for anyone who can get to the area. I made some connections with the convention staff and may be more involved in various ways next year.
For reasons entirely outside their control, thanks to Hurricane Sandy, some parts of the convention this year were more impromptu than planned. The hotel regained grid electric power a few hours before the event started. The storage unit where some of the dungeon equipment is kept was recently under water, so some parts of the dungeon were outfit in a last-minute manner. Despite this, everyone involved performed admirably and the event came off remarkably well. Dealing with this situation was the number one accomplishment of the staff, as I see it.
On the side of planning, there are a few things the event could have done better. The hotel was not big enough. We sold out the hotel rooms and plenty of rooms in an overflow hotel. Additionally, many of the events, including panels and workshops and social games, needed rooms 50-200% larger than the size they were given, and some events were scheduled in the bar which was often unusable due to crowding by bar/restaurant patrons. GKE3 would benefit from a hotel at least twice the size, both in terms of hotel rooms and event space (more and larger meeting and ball rooms). Also some of the people presenting panels and workshops and organizing social events were less than stellar, which observation may be an indication of my level of convention snobbery, but was mirrored by the thoughts of some friends with less convention experience as well. I'll send all of this as feedback to the event staff, and based on my experience at the event I expect them to take such feedback seriously.
In terms of geekery, I was very happy to see it taken to a level I have not encountered at a kink event before. I saw multiple scenes take place with both (or more!) players in costume and acting in character, including Batman/villains, DC superheroes, Star Trek, Star Wars (including a violet wand light saber), misc damsels being used by a scarily realistic tentacled chair, and others. There was a maker meetup including a nice deltabot 3d printer. There was gaming, often of the strip variety.
In terms of kink, the atmosphere was a bit different than most other events I've been to. The event provided an aftercare/cuddle room half the size of the dungeon, including chairs and beds, which was amazingly inviting in ways that a smaller such space couldn't be. The dungeon was a lot more inviting of conversation, and in many cases people engaged in scenes would converse with bystanders. The hotel bathrooms were gender-neutralized. I got a stronger vibe for identity safety (no photos allowed, badges without preprinted names on them) and for play safety. I found more people willing to try new things for the sake of the new experience.
In terms of convention-y goings on, they were many and varied. In the style of fannish conventions, the vendors populated one floor of the hotel rooms, vending from stripped bedrooms. This allowed them to operate on arbitrary schedules, which was nice. Public room parties were notably absent (or low key and unadvertised). There were a few meetups for various fandoms and other kinky or geeky subgroups. There was a ball pit room, which migrated to the pool for a night. There was a 24 hour pool, with alternating times for clothing and not.
Overall I found the event enjoyable and would recommend it for anyone who can get to the area. I made some connections with the convention staff and may be more involved in various ways next year.