Hump History, Prologue: Long Ago and Far Away…

by Teeebone

First, let’s set the mood: All Star - Smash Mouth [Lyrics]

Greetings and hello, folks–Teeebone here! As the CSPC moves into its next chapter, come gather around and let the Bone Man give you the scoop on what things were like back in the day. Mind you, there are many chapters to this story, so let’s start with the basics: Once upon a time, in January 2008, a new party debuted at the CSPC and it was called the Hump.

The Hump was a laid back, sex-focused party held on Wednesday nights on the weekly at the CSPC (Hump Day, get it?). It had a free two-hour social that was open to the public followed by the four-hour party for members and their guests only till midnight. Originally conceived as a dance party, the Hump evolved into a couples and moresomes party geared towards consensual non-monogamy and open to all sexual orientations and genders.

It was the kind of event where you could just show up after work or dinner and hang out or hook up or whatever. You didn't have to have sex if you didn't want to. There was no pressure to "score." The staff did everything they could to make the Hump a safe space to play. For many new members, the Hump was the first CSPC event that they attended after orientation. And if you arrived before 8 p.m., you could take advantage of $5 off admission during “Ecstasy Hours”!

The Hump was the proverbial comfy chair for almost everybody. As an attendee, you could chat in the social area, dance on the main space dance floor, have fun in the cuddle/romp pile, watch porn in the solo space, or have sexytimes in the back room. Some BDSM activity was allowed, such as suspensions, rope bondage, sensation play, and birthday spankings, and on the 1st Wednesdays of the month, there was also the Whump at the Hump, held in the RAW Dungeon next door that allowed full-on BDSM play.

The Hump ran for more than eight and a half years and became a classic CSPC event, ultimately being among the last parties held during the final week of operations before the closing of the CSPC’s original site at Interbay.

What made the Hump so special? The fabulous humans who poured their hearts (and sweat!) into building an event that served up what the community wanted and needed. Want to be part of the team that helps create the Next Big Thing at the CSPC? Learn more about volunteering here!

Until next time- :^)

Consent Corner 2.8

by Emma Atkinson and Rachel Drake

Hello wonderful readers!  Welcome back to Consent Corner- we hope that we’re in at least your top three corners, even if we’re not at the tippy top. We’re so glad to have you with us as we ponder the many-faceted jewel of consent.

Shout out to a reader who sent us a lovely note asking us to write more about creating and maintaining boundaries.  We’ve been thinking long and hard (ooh, is it getting hot in here?) about your question and we’ll be talking more about boundaries in upcoming episodes.  It’s *such* an important topic for all of us and it affects *every* part of our lives.  Stay tuned.

A key part of creating boundaries is creating agreements, and our previous episode considered creating agreements with new partners.  Once you’ve made these agreements, you’ll want to revisit them from time to time, and that’s our topic today.

Revisiting your agreements means talking about them, so the first thing to do is create a space in which everyone feels comfortable to express their likes and dislikes.  It means openness and honesty.  It means making sure you’re understanding what’s said.  And, it means listening without judging.  

It’s a lot to ask, we know, and we know that you can do it!  When you see how well it can work for you, you can lavish praise upon us later.

If we’ve learned nothing else in the past two years, as COVID has been smacking us upside the head, it’s that things change.  We’re all getting older, our bodies change, our needs and wants change - who can keep up?  You can.

We suggest revisiting your agreements at least once a year, though a quarterly conversation might work better for you.  How about at the Solstice and Equinox times?  How about monthly, at the ides?  It didn’t work out so well for Caesar, but it just might work for you.  Just knowing that there’s a scheduled time to talk can help even the most reticent of us open up in conversation.  

There’s a great tool for a relationship check-in at multiamory.com called RADAR. That means: 1) Review, 2) Agree on the agenda, 3) Discuss, 4) Action points, and 5) Re-connect.  Please check them out for the details, and you’ll find lots of other potentially useful information there, too.  

Homework:  review the RADAR model at the multiamory site and revise it for your own purposes.  And, check-in with us at:  info@thecspc.org. 

“Be excellent to each other” - Bill and Ted

“Be sexcellent to each other” - Emma and Rachel

PPMT 2.0 March Madness Mardi Gras: Farewell to the Flesh!

Beginning on Epiphany (aka Three Kings Day or Twelfth Night) and ending on Fat Tuesday (aka Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras Day) is the season known as Carnival. Mardi Gras, French for “Fat Tuesday,” is the celebrated method of indulgence and debauchery before the fasting of Lent. A “farewell to the flesh,” it’s the only time of year in Louisiana that it’s acceptable to feast on King Cake, a traditionally circular-shaped cinnamon pastry covered in frosting and colored sugar. Mardi Gras is the time when the colors of purple (for justice), green (for faith), and gold (for power) reign supreme and adorn every decoration on every door and balcony of the French Quarter.

We hope to have a King Cake! A King we will mash cake on as the peasants revolt smearing cake on the King! Farewell to the flesh, indeed!

Power Play Mixed-Tape Rocks Sensuality and BDSM under the same roof!

Power Play Mixed-Tape makes having a fantastic fucking time easy. Dress to impress and surround yourself with sensual sex and bass-pounding BDSM. Best yet - The music will be HOT - throbbing Top 40 8-10 pm with DJ Oblique and sizzling Rock mash-ups by The Bone Man 10 pm-12 am! Surge and Doof with us! (The basement will ride a noticeably lower decibel level for your pleasure!)

The Experience Bay is brand new for your Tasting Pleasure! This month we feature the mystical Rowan with her sensual sensations and tantalizing claws. Make sure you sign up when you arrive so you don’t miss out! 

Pickup Play Are you available to play? Grab a name tag located on a table just past Registration, add your name and Top/bottom designation, and/or write a sticky note detailing your fantasy. Don’t miss out. Just ask, negotiate and give clear consent! 

Come Beat, Flirt, Needle, Bleed, Cut, Hang, Tie, Eat, Lick, Grab, Bite, Kiss, Fuck, Cum, and maybe much more with someone new, someone old, something cool, something bold! Spin on the dance floor or be suspended from one of our hardpoints. Make someone sizzle on the rack or bend them over a spanking bench. Any play sanctioned by the CSPC is allowed at PPMT so review CSPC's Essential House Rules. Expect sex anywhere and everywhere except the bathroom and Aftercare room! If it's going to be bloody, bring your own plastic/tarp and linens. No solo masturbation unless scene participants and Event Coordinators give permission, please.

PPMT ran from 2012 up until the closure of Interbay in 9/2016. PPMT was selected as 2012 Party of the Year as well as March 2014 Party of the Month. It is the first of the 2.0 parties to return to the CSPC to “Reignite Our Fires!”

Join our Fetlife group to plan a scene or just fantasize! Got something devious or seductive in mind? Email ahead to secure a fantasy needing special devising or to seek EC approval for riskier play.

A little party music to whet your whistle:

Beth Hart - Bad Woman Blues

Paddlepalooza Results

Paddlepalooza has come and gone, but the excited glow it created is still in our hearts (and on some of our bottoms). We had 15 wonderful artists create and donate a total of 23 paddles for auction, and the pieces were as diverse as they were perverse.

The auction ran for five days, and the tension was so thick you could smack it with a paddle. Our donated paddles brought in a total of $955 from our lucky high bidders. Between that, the artists’ donations, and some help from additional generous donors, we were able to exceed our goal, making $2,585 for the Center!

We hope you’ll bring your paddles out to some of our upcoming events. Seeing the proud new owners with their paddles will warm us to the bottom of our hearts, as much as the paddles will surely warm some heart-shaped bottoms.

Here are the paddles that brought in the most at auction, and the prizes they won for their makers:

Ten Tickles – This 3-D work inspired by cosmic love and consent rocketed to the stars with a total of $160 in bids, enveloping in its tentacles our first prize of a week’s stay in Hawaii!

Paddler’s Creed – Bringing in $65 in bids, this sharp-witted take on the Rifleman’s Creed swung true with laser-burned focus to tie for second place and win $100 for its maker!

Georgia O’Kink – This homage to Red Canna by Georgia O’Keeffe put on a colorful display to tie for second place (with no additional prize, as its creator had also landed first prize)!

Crosswise – This cunning creation of criss-crossing cuts collected $60 in bids and tied for third place, winning its creator a free year of CSPC membership!

Every Sting is Awesome!/Every Swing is Awesome! – Building up bids of $60 to tie for third place, this LEGO-covered customizable creation won its maker a free year of CSPC membership!

Overall this has been a tremendous amount of fun, and we’ve done some real good in the community as a result. From the artists to the bidders to the volunteers who worked so hard to make this promotion happen, we can’t thank you all enough. You all helped make Paddlepalooza successful, and helped to support the CSPC. We’re awash with devilishly delightful ideas and looking forward to next time.

You can still see the gorgeous paddles from this event at the Paddlepalooza auction site. And please consider visiting the sites of some of our artists:

Hugz & Cuddlez - cuddle community

Herring Designs - resin art

Alex Haworth - accepting commissions

TrueFalse - fine art

Eirikah Delaunay - sex+relationship coach at Desire Alchemy

Pause the Presses!

Over the Rainbow! Paddle by Frances Herring

Paddlepalooza, our promotional purveyance of paradisiacal paddles, is proceeding as planned!

Visit the Paddlepalooza auction site, where you can preview the pictures in our parade of procurable paddles. Your peepers will pop when you perceive the potpourri of primo paddles present; this plentitude of paddles is par excellence! Pick some paddles you’re partial to from the plethora we’re presenting, and plan your purchases precisely. 

The auction is in progress, so if you go presently you can proffer your preferred price points for the paddles you prize, be they parsimonious or profuse. With perfect planning, or perhaps just propitiously, you may purchase the perfect paddle for you to possess, or perchance to present to a paramour! The auction ends at precisely 8 p.m. PST on Saturday, February 5, so don’t postpone and let your privilege to participate pass you by!

Translation: The Paddlepalooza auction is going on right now! Bidding ends on Saturday February 5 at 8 p.m. Don’t miss out!

Celebrating Black History Month, Sex Positive Style

As long as there have been Black people there have been Black LGBTQ people. In honor of Black History month, we at the CSPC wanted to share some amazing POC who made history in the LGBTQ community as artists, activists, and leaders.

Did you know that Gladys Bentley (1907-1960) was Harlem’s most famous lesbian? Gladys was a gifted queer blues performer who preferred a tux to a dress during the Harlem Renaissance. 

Stormé DeLarverie (1920-2014) was a professed biracial butch lesbian born in the Deep South of New Orleans. She joined the Ringling Brothers Circus as a young teenager, performed as the only drag king at the first integrated drag revue in North America, and is rumored to have thrown the first punch at the Stonewall Uprising in 1969.

Ron Oden (1950-present) became the first openly gay mayor of Palm Springs in 2003. 17 years after Oden’s election, Palm Springs became the home of America’s first all-LGBTQ city council.

Phill Wilson (1956-present) was appointed by former President Obama's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS in 2010. Wilson founded the Black AIDS Institute in 1999 after the death of his partner and his own HIV diagnosis. His work led to the "Act Against AIDS" campaign, which you may know as "Let's Stop HIV Together.”

And for all of our dance lovers, did you know that the Father of Vogue was Willi Ninja (1961-2006)? NInja's dance style was made most famous by Madonna's song “Vogue” in 1990. 

Alphonso David (1970-present) is a lawyer and Human rights activist. He served as an attorney at Lambda Legal and was the first openly gay counsel for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Stay tuned for more tantalizing tidbits about Black sex positive pioneers throughout the month on the CSPC website and social media channels!

Consent Corner 2.7

by Emma Atkinson and Rachel Drake

Hello stupendously sassy readers!  We’re glad you’re here with us as we explore the fascinating world of consent.

We’ve been talking about boundaries.  If you’re new to the CSPC and the newsletter, welcome!  You can review any of our other discussions in previous newsletters.  It’s not required reading, but it may answer some of your questions.

Any discussion of boundaries will necessarily involve a discussion of agreements.  And, as it happens, the concept of Agreements is one of the main pillars in the consent structure you’re building.  We’ll consider the topic here and in upcoming columns, so stay tuned! 

We’re big fans of using the term agreements rather than rules.  After all, rules are made to be broken, right?  And who are “they” to tell me what to do?  Do these questions remind you of thoughts that may have passed through your mind at any time?  We thought so.

When we make an agreement, however, we acknowledge that we’re going to hold ourselves accountable for abiding by it.  We’re giving our consent to the interaction as we’ve defined it of our own free will.  Who would ever say that agreements are made to be broken?  Probably not people you’d want to trust with your personal well-being. 

In all of your relationships you have the right - and the responsibility - to create agreements with your partners.  Here are some questions to ponder when considering consent agreements.

What will happen when you’re together?  How long will you be together?  What kind of contact will there be?  Will any implements be used?  (For those of us who enjoy impact play, the word “implements” gets us a little hot and bothered.  Moving on… ).  How will you know when you’re done?  

How will you communicate with each other - before, during, and after the interaction?  You’ll want to determine the safeword vocabulary you’ll use in your time together, which would ideally include both verbal and nonverbal signals.  You might also want to be in touch one or two days afterwards to make sure everyone’s okay.

What must not happen when you’re together?  These are the activities for which you do not give your consent, and they’re sometimes called “hard limits.”  It seems sensible to say that anything that threatens your life ought to be off-limits.  But what about things that might jeopardize your health, or your job, or your relations with others?  You have the right to specify what’s not acceptable for you 

Here’s a tip that might help:  try having the person listening summarize what they just heard.  For example, the listener might say “I heard you say that we’re going to cuddle, which could include kissing and hugging, and that clothing will remain on.”  The speaker can then confirm or correct the summary until there’s agreement and understanding.  

Small but important aside:  please think long and hard about the implications of having someone fail to honor one of your agreements.  Please include a trusted friend in your deliberations.  A breach of trust might indicate abuse, and that’s not okay.  

Homework:  Think about the agreements you’ve made with your partner(s) and talk to them about it.  Then, do some of the fun things you’ve been talking about!  

Questions about agreements?  We’re at info@thecspc.org.  

“Be excellent to each other” - Bill and Ted

“Be sexcellent to each other” - Emma and Rachel 

Paddlepalooza: The Gift that Keeps on Giving!

The paddle submission season is winding down, and the online silent charity auction is coming on February 1-5th! All paddles will be sold to the highest bidder, with the proceeds going to support the CSPC. The artists who designed the top three highest-bid items will also receive a prize.

The paddle gallery continues to grow as our gifted artists submit their wares. Join us for all the fun, support our artists and the CSPC community, and surprise your sweetie (or treat yourself!) to a fabulous new toy for Valentine’s Day!

Stay tuned to the Paddlepalooza page for more auction details!

Leadership Spotlight: Mina

This is the sixteenth of our spotlights on community members who volunteer with the CSPC in leadership positions. In this issue, we’ve asked some questions to get a deep and personal look at our new Captain of the Setup/Strike Team, Mina.

  • Name and/or scene name:

    • Mina 

  • Pronouns:

    • She/Her

  • How do you identify (this can include gender, sexual orientation, kink or BDSM roles, etc.)?

    • Cisgender Female - Bottom

  • How long have you been with the CSPC?

    • Less than a year.

  • What brought you here and what are your main areas of interest?

    • As a new resident to WA, I wanted to challenge myself to create a social circle that didn’t involve co-workers. I was fortunate to stumble across CSPC on Fetlife and the rest was history! Not only am I able to socialize, I’m given the opportunity of sexual exploration and discovery. 

  • CSPC e-mail address, title/role, reasons for contact/areas you cover:

    • Captain Setup/Strike Team, setupstrikecaptain@thecspc.org. Keeping things in order and ensuring that things run as smoothly as possible for an event brings me Zen. I'm looking to establish contact with Hosts/Champions/ECs for La Queer, Fresh Meet, Power Play Mix Tape, Femme Dominion, Myself!, and any other in-person events that are currently being hosted at the Gallery. I'm open to any advice or tips!

  • What was your path to your current position?

    • After a few setup/strike shifts, my natural curiosity for organization came butting out and Skitty caught a whiff of it. Now, here I am! 

  • Which CSPC event is your favorite and why? 

    • Currently, my favorite in-person event is Myself! so that I may indulge in my voyeurism kink. The blatant invitation to watch sexual activity in public with no inhibitions or reprecussions is titillating. I hope to attend a Power Play Mix Tape event in the future.

  • Career or day job (industry, position, or whatever you're comfortable sharing):

    • Patient Care Coordinator with a local clinic.

  • What do you like to do in your free time?

    • I am a homebody who loves to read a variety of romance novels as well as indulge in some quality streaming time. Pre-Covid, I enjoyed playing board games and card games with friends.

  • Living situation (partners, roommates, pets, plants):

    • I’ve found it to be more financially sound to be a part of a house sharing situation. So technically I have roommates, but we’re all in our own little world so much that we’re practically strangers. It feels like living alone until a common area snafu happens. 

  • Something no one would ever guess about you or a fun fact:

    • I’ve recently started a hoodie collection a couple months ago. It’s my goal to collect hoodies that have designs that show off some kind of quirky knowledge about myself or commemorate a traveling opportunity.

  • Turn-ons and/or squicks: 

    • Turn-On: Open communication, open affection, and sexual confidence. 

    • Squicks: Emotional manipulation and pauciloquents.

  • Hopes and concerns for the CSPC and/or the greater sex positive community:

    • My hope for CSPC is a space that we can call our own. I’m excited to expand the types of parties and scenes that we can have!

  • Advice for a new member or volunteer: 

    • Dive in with both feet! If you’re shy like me when it comes to socializing, then volunteering can give you a purpose to focus on while meeting new people..

  • How can we build up each other? How can we be here for one another?

    • I think CSPC does an amazing job at being present for their members. I look forward to the day when we are able to host in-person munches again. 

  • Anything else we should know?

    • I’m an open book. There’s no such thing as TMI or a dumb question.