TO Kink 2004

by Bernie Roehl

In early September of this year, Toronto saw its first large-scale pan-sexual BDSM convention. Called “TO Kink” (the TO stands for Toronto), it featured workshops, vendors and a large well-equipped playspace.

The event was the brainchild of Rowan McVey, a familiar face to anyone who watched the Toronto edition of the Showcase series “Kink”. She and her two fellow organizers Arnon Clark and Dana Shaw did all the planning and scheduling for the convention, and assembled a team of volunteers to do the countless small jobs that are part of making an event like this happen.

For a first-time event, TO Kink ran amazingly well. The host hotel was the Ramada, an excellent choice since they had been home to other kink-related events in the past. Located in downtown Toronto, the Ramada is close to shops and restaurants as well as to the playspace. While it would have been more convenient for the playspace to be located in the hotel itself, the Ramada doesn’t really have an area large enough for the purpose. However, a shuttle bus (sponsored by Northbound Leather) was available to transport attendees back and forth. Since Toronto was having an exceptionally mild Fall, it was also easy enough to walk the few blocks, even while carrying a fully-loaded toybag.

The playspace itself was nothing short of amazing. I’ve attended countless play parties and BDSM conventions over the years, and the TO Kink dungeon was one of the best I’ve seen anywhere. The choice of the Buddies In Bad Times theatre was truly inspired, and it’s clear that theatres in general make good dungeons. Buddies is basically a “black box” with good acoustics and excellent sound and lighting facilities. The play equipment, all of which was donated for the event, was beautiful and diverse. The layout was extremely well thought-out, with lots of room to play without getting in each others’ way.

The workshops were well-attended, and the feedback from them was quite positive. I myself taught two of them, and I found the rooms were a good size for the number of attendees. I initially questioned whether having four concurrent seminar “tracks” was excessive, but the workshops I saw were all well-attended.

The only disappointing aspect of the event was the vendors area. The number of vendors was smaller than one would expect, and while some of them had a good selection of items, there just wasn’t much variety overall. This is definitely one aspect of the event that could be improved for next time.

Speaking of next time, the organizers have already announced the dates for the next TO Kink. They’re shifting the event from September (a fairly busy month) to April of 2006. Unfortunately, this means there’ll be a full year and a half between the first TO Kink and the second one. However, April is definitely a better choice and the additional time can be put to good use in planning and preparing. They also plan to hold smaller parties in the interim, most like at the Buddies space.

More information about TO Kink can be found at their website, www.tokink.com