12:00 PM-7:00 PM
We are bringing you a variety of new vendors while also making sure that many of your favorites return! Please note that, in order to provide you with more play space at night, there will be no vending after 7:00 PM (with the exception of Savory Nibbles--we want you to have food) . See our vendor's page for a list of vendors.
CLASSES AND OTHER EVENTS
For our daytime events, we are adding something different this time. Because of recent events in the PUSH family and the larger kink community, we need to engage in extra care to keep a safe space. Thus, we have scheduled a featured event for our final class of the day, "Building a Kink Community of Care." We urge everybody to attend this event, which will focus on accountability in terms of our principles of consent and bodily autonomy, along with a discussion of how to maintain PUSH as an anti-racist, body-positive, pro-queer, trans affirming space. We will discuss a diverse array of scenarios including negotiations of specific scenes, engaging in sexual and BDSM experiences on substances, being groped on the dance floor, and edge play. We will talk about ways in which we can make our play more inclusive and accessible. This class will take place from 5:30-6:30 PM. Please look at the description below for more information.
1:00:1:50 PM in the Ground Floor Dungeon: Erotic Grappling with Lennox and Company
A personal trainer and 2nd degree black belt, Lennox will go over fundamentals like safe chokes, positional control, fun counters and more! Lennox and Company will have plenty of demonstrations showcasing safe and ethical ways to have a sexy roll on the mats!
1:00-1:50 PM in the Basement (Club ERA): CLASS CANCELLED DUE TO AN EMERGENCY-Guilt and Shame in Kink: A DBT Approach, with Rebecca-Emma Kaplan (Pink).
2:00-2:50 PM in the Ground Floor Dungeon: Impact Play 101 with Bryan and feather
This class is always a crowd favorite, with lots of demonstrations and interaction! Bryan and feather are two of the most experienced impact players in the PUSH family, with Bryan in particular engaging in impact play in public and private ever since the Raleigh scene of the 1990s. In this class, in addition to multiple demonstrations involving a variety of impact toys (and body parts), Bryan and feather will give everybody a refresher on how to safely negotiate impact play.
2:00-2:50 PM in the Basement (Club ERA): Feminization: Being Beautiful Without Being Lesser, with Garou
Feminization is a form of play that people are drawn to for so many reasons, from beautification to submission. Far too often, it replicates misogynistic caricatures of women, fails to reflect our ethics, and can cause social discomfort for those around us. This class will cover the foundations of transfeminist ethics, container methodology for feminization, negotiation strategies, and will feature a live scene for your educational and viewing pleasure. Garou (she/her, it/its) is a transgender leatherwoman from central NC and founding member of House of the Hydra. She is a bootblack, edge player, and active member of the southeast leather community since 2020. Its passion for the leather and BDSM communities extend far beyond education and into crafting, discourse, and activism.
3:00-3:50 PM in the Ground Floor Dungeon: Pet Play 101 with Veruca Sal and Puppy Violet
Pet Play 101: Where to start, gear basics and how to craft accessible, gender-affirming and deeply connective play for both pet and handler. No experience needed- just curiosity, cookies and ¡bark bark bark! Veruca Sal (He/Him/Sir) is a Venezolana, Gender Queer, AuDHDer and Owner and Handler with a deep affection for pet play who really wants to pet that dawg. Veruca is also a sex educator whose focus is on creating emotionally safe and connective kink, redefining what good sex can be by tossing out cis/het/ableist pleasure markers, and expanding access to gender pleasure for trans/gender-expansive folks by making gender pervertible. Puppy Violet (any pronouns) is Vera's neurotypical service animal, a pup with access needs and the goodest girl.
3:00-3:50 PM in the Basement (Club ERA): Principle of Fitness and Kink with Marti Evans
This talk explores how we can apply the principles of fitness training ("progressive overload," "specific adaptation to imposed demand," etc.) in ways that help us understand how the body and brain can respond to kinky play. Marti Evans (they/them) is a non-binary parent, athlete, and artist. With a varied history in kink education and performance, nude modeling and photography, animation, belly dance, martial arts, team sports, weightlifting, acting, singing, and contortion, they’ve lived many lives and have seen many things. They are currently working to move into a career as an intimacy coordinator, while doing art and animation on the side.
4:00-5:20 PM in the Ground Floor Dungeon: 4TH ANNUAL BEST IN SHOW!
Calling all pets, critters, handlers, and spectators—it's time to strut, sprint, and show off your best tricks! Solo pets are welcome, handlers not required! Each pet will choose two out of three categories: Prance and Present, Agility Course, and Obedience. More details are posted in the images below. We'll start at 4:00, and the top three will go head-to-head in our nighttime performance to see who the ultimate winner is!
4:00-4:50 PM in the Basement (Club ERA): BIPOC Kinkster Discussion Group, with John Blaze and CallMeJenny
This panel invites BIPOC kinksters to come together in a supportive and affirming space for connection and meaningful discussion. Together, we’ll explore what it means to navigate a largely white kink community as BIPOC individuals, how we feel about showing up as our full selves in spaces, share what events are happening on a regular basis, and what resources are helping us learn, grow, and take care of ourselves. We can also delve into what makes a space or partner feel truly safe, especially in these challenging times. We want to hear the ups, the downs, and we want to open the door for community.
5:30-6:30 PM in the Ground Floor Dungeon, with a live feed into the Basement (Club ERA): Building a Kink Community of Care: Access, Empowerment, and Healing with Petecock and Mx. Princexx Peritwinkle
This is a featured event that we recommend everybody attend. Kink communities can create a sense of safety that allows each of us to obtain greater access to our desires. But the community requires constant care, not only to prevent bad actors from harming us, but also to hold ourselves accountable when we make mistakes, and to allow for a healing process. This forum is about creating a kink community that allows for greater erotic experimentation while also preventing sexual harm. Petecock (he/him) is a PUSH founder and main organizer. Mx. Princexxx Peritwinkle (ze/zim/zir) is a Blk trans drag artist from The South. Ze is a sewist and creative costumer. Ze enjoys prison abolition work and cultural organizing for queer peoples. In the ballroom scene, ze is awarded for zir Bizarre wearable designs. Zir drag inspiration are the countless Blk trans women who made drag art we know is as today.
6:30-8:30 PM in the Littles Room: Littles Drawing Time
Drawing Time for the Littles! Crayons and Coloring Books Provided
Please note that PUSH is working to become more accessible. We will be streaming the downstairs classes upstairs for those who are not able to make it downstairs. This will take place in the room that is usually the little’s play space. We are grateful for tech savvy staff at The Fruit for helping us with this request. The stream will be private to protect everyone’s identity. The littles play space will be open after 6:30 PM!
KINKY COCKTAIL AND MOCKTAIL MEET AND GREET
7:00-9:00 PM
Have you never been to PUSH before? Do you want to meet people in a less formal and crowded environment than the Ultimate Fetish Party? Come to the meet and greet from 7:00-9:00 PM (remember that the entry doors will be closed between 8:30 and 9:00).