by Teeebone
"You are getting this because you expressed some interest to be involved with the Wednesday Dance Party Team."- Excerpt from an email in late 2007
Our first team meeting was January 2, 2008. Originally the first Hump was supposed to be January 9, but we clearly weren’t ready so a follow-up meeting was held instead. The new start date was set for January 30, 2008. We decorated for the party with spare or borrowed gear, silks and member contributions to the CSPC, including some new lamps and vases, a red LED "lips" rope light wall sculpture and a plaster camel lawn ornament that we nicknamed "Humphrey" that became the party's mascot.
The weekly Wednesday party consisted of a social from 6-8pm, which was free to attend and open to the public. At about 7:45pm somebody got on the mic and announced that the party was about to begin and that those who hadn’t paid admission needed to go to the cashier’s desk or go home. Then from 8pm-12am it was sexytime!
To be honest, the first year almost killed us. The pace of the activity was exhausting. We jam-packed the Hump with demos, classes, and discussions during the social and served a simple hot dish with goodies at the party. We had a lot to learn about how to sustainably run the Hump, and it would be a while longer before we got into a more laid-back tempo.
In February, we had our first challenge. A conflict developed between the Cuddle/Romp Pile and the Self-Gratification Area (as it was called back then), which resulted in one or two drama threads on the old CSPC board on the Internet. Some folks were walking and wanking (wandering around the front area of the Main Space, looking for scenes to masturbate to), which disturbed the folks on the Cuddle/Romp Pile because they had NOT consented to being watched and masturbated to, so the Hump Crew sat down and wrote up new rules and set some boundaries:
The Self-Gratification Area would be marked and veiled all around.
Have the rules for this zone in the area for attendees to read.
Intervene with attendees who walk & wank.
Intervene with attendees who are wanking in the zone and watching people in other areas.
Have the TV + DVD player set up with porn in the Self-Gratification Area.
Rename this area "Solos, Sex and Voyeurs."
These measures helped heal the rift between the two groups. In any case, the fans of the Solos, Sex and Voyeurs space still had the option to attend a monthly party known as Myself! an event which focused on masturbation.
In March I was made an Event Coordinator, adding to my duties as a DJ, Poster Artist, and a Host of the Hump. I found myself wearing many hats! As the year went by, we found ourselves helping attendees plan scenes. Some were private, others were public. Public scenes like bukkake, glory hole, or gangbang scenes are more of an audience participation event, requiring more attention and care such as:
Finding out what the requesting member’s preferences, expectations and boundaries were.
Informing the requesting member about what needed to be done in order to structure a scene that would fulfill their desires while respecting their boundaries within the limits of CSPC rules..
Ensuring all participants knew the rules of the scene and helping enforce those rules.
Providing a safe haven for any needed aftercare and clean up.
And that's it. It's been the formula for success ever since. I often got an email or PM from somebody asking about organizing something special at the Hump, and I just couldn’t help but feel good all over about that.
There were concerns about the Hump becoming a "Sausage Fest" (as in way more men than women in attendance), a problem when running events like this, especially when everybody paid the same price for admission. We tried out a number of things including themes and workshops that focused on women and reduced admission pricing for women and couples. In the end however, we found that the best way to make the party appealing to women was to make the space a safe place for women to play.
By November, plans were made for a "Taster Party Hump" to be held on a 5th Wednesday of the year. A Taster event is like a sampler box of chocolates, only instead of chocolates, you get a sample of BDSM play, like a brief flogging or caning scene (to name a few). This party would become "Sweet Taste-ations," our twice a year BDSM Taster event, which would become a reality in 2009 and introduce “The Whump at the Hump” as a monthly sibling party later.
In December we had our biggest attendance yet: 71 people. The party rocked, and we were all up to the task. We ended the year with an Xmas Eve Potluck. Then we hibernated till January–although I did do a DJ set on New Year's Eve, LOL! After our first year anniversary, I sent this to the staff:
"It's been two days after the party and it's finally sinking in that a whole year has gone by. I sit tapping keys and feeling humble on a Friday trying to take it all in. In the space of a year we managed to create a weekly party at the club with some spare props and parts and a little imagination and energy to create... THE HUMP- a sex-focused dance party on a WEDNESDAY! And we succeeded in attracting and building an audience that attends regularly. None of this would have been possible without you, our volunteers. This is a shout out to all those who helped out with THE HUMP, from the past to the present. On behalf of myself, the other Hump ECs, our Director, the Site Coordinator and our Volunteer Coordinator, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!"--My email to the Hump Crew, 01-30-2009
Until next time! :^)