Broaden Your Mind

Other Community Events to Enjoy!

The CSPC throws amazing parties and hosts many important discussions on various topics. But luckily, we live in a place where there are many more options to dive into sex- and body-positive culture. The list below is just a sampling of some great events coming up in the next month.

We include non-CSPC events in every issue. If you have an event suggestion, please email Marissa at newsletter@thecspc.org and it might make it into our next issue!

December 12–15

Northwest Film Forum | Positive & Silence = Death ($7–$14 | in person)

Upon the global outbreak of the AIDS epidemic, director Rosa Von Praunheim set his sights on making films in direct response to the inaction of the powerful and the action of those directly affected by HIV/AIDS. Positive and Silence = Death, the first two parts of Von Praunheim’s AIDS Trilogy, focus on the lived experiences and reactions of the queer community in New York City as they fight against a local and national government that allowed thousands of people to die without a second thought.

December 14

Kremwerk | T4T: All Trans & Non-Binary Drag Show ($15 | in person)

T4T is the longest running by and for all transgender and non-binary produced and casted drag show in Seattle, a one of a kind celebration of trans drag artists. T4T is the place for trans folks to enjoy drag, enjoy gender euphoria, find community, and be with people who understand them.

December 27–28

Beacon Cinema | Scala!!! ($13 | in person)

A heartwarming documentary tribute to Scala Cinema—one of repertory cinema’s all-time greatest venues—SCALA!!! will keep your love of movies shining bright. During London's post-punk 1980s scene, Scala Cinema pushed the boundaries of convention with a diverse calendar covering all bases from sexploitation to horror, from martial arts to queer transgressions. SCALA!!! is a universal shout-out to cinema’s ability to inspire young minds and create a sense of community for outsiders—a place where everyone is welcome. Featuring interviews from fifty Scala alums and friends (including John Waters), over one hundred films in clip form, previously unseen vintage footage of Scala itself, and an original soundtrack by Barry Adamson (former bassist of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds), SCALA!!! is your ticket to cinematic paradise.

January 2

First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square (free | in person)

Pioneer Square’s First Thursday Art Walk is the longest running established art walk in the nation. Since the early 1960’s, Pioneer Square has provided a haven for Seattle’s artistic community, housing esteemed galleries, innovative exhibition spaces, and working artist studios alike.

January 8

Papaya Project | Sex Trivia ($10–$20 | in person)

This monthly event is the best way to learn about and celebrate pleasure, queerness, and the science of sex! We kick off the evening with a brief introduction, then dive right into sex trivia. Trivia teams consist of 4-5 people. You can bring your friends and make your own team, or show up and join/create a team on the spot! All identities and backgrounds are welcome. Trivia questions cover a wide variety of sex and sexuality-related topics, so get ready to challenge yourself, learn something new, and have a good time. There will be PRIZES for the winning teams! A portion of each ticket this month will be donated to Seattle's Chapter of Dykes on Bikes.

Editor’s note for all events*

As a reminder, these are non-CSPC events. We include them as a way to open your mind to other experiences, but we have no control over them, their content, or their missions. 

Seattle Erotic Art Festival Call for Art!

Every year it seems crazy that we are back at SEAF season (where does the time go?). But here we are, and everyone’s favorite sexy art festival is coming in May 2025! Which means…

…the call for art is now open! This includes any visual, literary, or performance art, as well as art to be sold exclusively in the festival store. The calls for film and interactive art have been open for a while as well, so there is still time to submit for all mediums. 

This could be your year! Submit that sexy art!

All the info you need is HERE.

Community Health Update

We are knee deep in peak flu and covid season already so it’s important we as a community stay diligent to protect ourselves and others wherever possible. We’ve put together a few reminders for best practices as well as a few resources.

Vaccination remains the most effective tool in reducing illness related complications and acts as a protective measure for those who are immunocompromised and unable to receive them. If you are able to and haven’t yet received your flu and covid boosters for the year:

1. And have insurance and are financially stable. You can get your flu shots and covid boosters almost anywhere from your family doctor to your local urgent care to pharmacies like Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid. 

2. If you have no insurance, are underinsured, or financially vulnerable, Care-a-Van Mobile Health Services provides vaccines as well as other basic health services at no cost:
   Care-a-Van Mobile Health Services | Washington State Department of Health 

Hand washing is another frontline defense against illness. Use soap and water to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, including the backs of your hands, between fingers, and under nails. Use paper towels in public restrooms to dry hands and avoid using hand dryers. Sanitizer is a good option when there isn’t access to soap and water but should not replace regular hand washing. To effectively apply, rub over hands and fingers for at least 20 seconds until dry.

Wearing a mask is a simple yet effective way to protect yourself and others. Masks act as a barrier, reducing the spread of respiratory droplets that may carry viruses or bacteria, especially in crowded or enclosed spaces. They are particularly important when you're feeling unwell or in situations where physical distancing isn't possible.

When feeling sick stay home from parties and avoid going out in public. Not only does this help with recovery time it also minimizes exposure to additional bacteria and viruses that could worsen your condition. If you have to go out, wear a mask, practice good hygiene, and social distance as much as possible to keep yourself and your community as safe.

Additional Resources

1. King County Virus Dashboard to keep up to date on transmission alerts and hospitalizations: Respiratory virus data dashboards: COVID-19, Influenza, and RSV - King County, Washington 

2. Free covid test kits (4 per household in the U.S.) are still available to order for free through USPS: COVID-19 Testing 

3. The Emerald City Resource Guide is a free list of various organizations that is updated pretty consistently on a yearly basis: Emerald City Resource Guide

Broaden Your Mind

Other Community Events to Enjoy!

The CSPC throws amazing parties and hosts many important discussions on various topics. But luckily, we live in a place where there are many more options to dive into sex- and body-positive culture. The list below is just a sampling of some great events coming up in the next month.

We include non-CSPC events in every issue. If you have an event suggestion, please email Marissa at newsletter@thecspc.org and it might make it into our next issue!

September 21 – December 7

Consent Academy | Consent and Leadership Series ($300+ | online)

Consent and Leadership is a unique opportunity for leaders to deepen their understanding of consent, power, trauma, and accountability. It consists of 8 workshops and one optional lab, each exploring the knowledge, skills, and practices anyone who finds themselves in a position of influence or authority needs in order to foster a consensual space.

November 17

Pan Eros: Holes in Friends: an introduction to needle play ($30–$75 | in person)

Come learn the foundational skills needed for all levels of needle play, from mean/sadistic needles to decorative/artsy scenes to predicament play as well as  other pokie shenanigans. This class will focus on safety considerations, supplies, how to use them and where to get them and the technique on how to pierce someone by the end of class.

November 20

Papaya Project: Spicy Speed Dating for Queer Femmes and Thems ($15 | in person)

Looking to make new connections while exploring different perspectives on identity, relationships, sexuality, and pleasure? If you're a femme or non-binary queer person, this event is for you! Come together for a night of meeting new people, making friends, and maybe even finding a spicy spark or two (or three).

November 20

Lionesse: BJ Magic ($44 | online)

Join for a transformative online workshop where you’ll learn how to give your partners new levels of full-body pleasure and spine-tingling bliss. Discover how to tap into your own turn-on, so you enjoy BJs just as much as your partner—and feel joyful, confident and empowered every step of the way!

November 21

Three Dollar Bill Cinema: Queer Screenwriting Group (free | online)

Join us! Three Dollar Bill Cinema's Queer Screenwriting Group is a weekly community safe space for LGBTQ+ writers and filmmakers to work on creative projects and connect with other like-minded people in film. 

November 29

Lumberyard Bar: ABDL Night (free | in person)

On Friday November 29th the Lumber Yard Bar in Seattle will transform into the biggest and best diaper party in Washington! Come out and join us for Diapers and Drinks, an ABDL Night at the Lumber Yard Bar. This will be a night of diapers, delicious drinks, socializing, DJs, dancing, and more. Starting at 8pm the bar will officially switch over to an ABDL themed event and you can show up and wear whatever ABDL, Ageplay, or Kink attire your heart desires. We will have a space set up to hold your vanilla clothes for $5 (cash only) during the event as well as a private area set up in the venue for diaper changes. There will be diaper samples available and even a special ABDL themed drink the bar will be serving!

December 7

Kremwerk: Shit Box, PornHub Edition ($15–$20 | in person)

Drag Queens leak their sex tapes! Featuring:Shit Show's Viper Fengz and Peach and Funbox's Fran Zia, Ava Magnum, and Solana Solstice.

December 11

Papaya Project: Sex Trivia ($10–$20 | in person)

This monthly event is the best way to learn about and celebrate pleasure, queerness, and the science of sex! Trivia questions cover a wide variety of sex and sexuality-related topics, so get ready to challenge yourself, learn something new, and have a good time. 

Editor’s note for all events*

As a reminder, these are non-CSPC events. We include them as a way to open your mind to other experiences, but we have no control over them, their content, or their missions.

News From the Board - Event Staffing and Cancellation Policy

The Center for Sex Positive Culture is created for us, by us! We rely on ourselves, as volunteers, to create and run the events we would like to see. If this is news to you, please take a moment to reflect on this fact.

It takes a large number of volunteers working together to create events that run smoothly and are enjoyable for everyone. At the November Board Meeting, the Board formally passed a motion to implement the following policy. It is intended to facilitate adequate event staffing, in an organized, sustainable, and equitable manner.

Beginning January 1, 2025:

• 72 hours before the start of an event, if the following volunteer roles have not been filled, a final notice and request to fill these roles will go out to the Volunteer Google group and the Discord Volunteer group:

• Opening EC, Closing EC, NMO Leader, Opening Registration, Middle Registration, and at least one Monitor for both the First and Second shift

• Any event that does not have all of these volunteer shifts filled within 48 hours of the start of the event, will be canceled. Ticket holders will be issued a coupon code for use at a future event. 

• If key volunteers cancel their shifts within that 48 hour period, we will do our best to find replacements, or alternatively, fill in using staff who are already signed up. We will not cancel events with less than 48 hours notice unless there is an emergency reason outside of the scope of this policy.

• No one should sign up in advance for more than one of these essential shifts per event. No one should be expected to volunteer more than is comfortable and sustainable for them. No one will be pressured by leadership or other volunteers to take on a volunteer shift.

Questions or concerns about this policy should be directed to HRdirector@thecspc.org and/or EventsDirector@thecspc.org.

If this article has you thinking it is time to start volunteering, then great! Go to the volunteer page on our website to get started. If you are already a volunteer and you want to take on a new role or responsibility, please contact the appropriate lead:

eclead@thecspc.org

nmo@thecspc.org

registrationteamcaptain@thecspc.org

monitorlead@thecspc.org

volunteerliaison@thecspc.org (if you are not sure or you wish to volunteer behind the scenes)

Broaden Your Mind

Other Community Events to Enjoy!

The CSPC throws amazing parties and hosts many important discussions on various topics. But luckily, we live in a place where there are many more options to dive into sex- and body-positive culture. The list below is just a sampling of some great events coming up in the next month.

We include non-CSPC events in every issue. If you have an event suggestion, please email Marissa at newsletter@thecspc.org and it might make it into our next issue!

September 21 – December 7

Consent Academy | Consent and Leadership Series ($300+ | in person)

Consent and Leadership is a unique opportunity for leaders to deepen their understanding of consent, power, trauma, and accountability. It consists of 8 workshops and one optional lab, each exploring the knowledge, skills, and practices anyone who finds themselves in a position of influence or authority needs in order to foster a consensual space.

October 10 – 20

Seattle Queer Film Festival ($150+ | in person and online)

Seattle Queer Film Festival has been an important part of the Seattle queer film community since 1996, and has remained the largest of its kind in the PNW. Since then the festival has expanded to intentionally showcase stories reflecting the vast spectrums and intersections of our queer communities. 

October 19

Pan Eros | Seduction ($60 | in person)

It’s time for Seattle’s sexiest Halloween party! Gallery Erato is preparing to host Seduction: Masquerade of Shadows—a night of music, dancing, ambient performances, and the hottest costumes to make it out of the bedroom! Seduction this year offers two floors of Halloween revelry. Step into our parlor upstairs for a delightfully spooky party. You’ll rub elbows with creatures that go bump in the night (don’t worry, they’re on their best behavior) while roaming a fantastically macabre collection of art specifically curated for the season. If you’re feeling bold, head downstairs into the Vampire’s Lair. Bewitching beats will keep you dancing, and our bar will be mixing up the perfect cocktails and mocktails.

October 25–26

Emerald City Trapeze Arts | Carnevolar ($50–$150 | in person)

Prepare for a Halloween night of spine-chilling thrills at Carnevolar XII, where the eerie meets the extraordinary. As darkness descends and the witching hour approaches, Emerald City Trapeze transforms into a dark carnival of the bizarre, featuring world-class flying trapeze, aerial, and circus acts. Deep in the shadows, a powerful coven weaves magic in the name of vengeance, defying gravity and mortality itself. Witness jaw-dropping aerial performances that will send shivers down your spine, as trapeze artists soar through the night like restless spirits, twisting and turning in fleeting glimpses.

Editor’s note for all events*

As a reminder, these are non-CSPC events. We include them as a way to open your mind to possible other experiences, but we have no control over them, their content, or their missions.

News From the Board - Board Elections

Officer and Director Elections were held at the September 11th Public Board Meeting. Congratulations to the following Board Members and thank you for taking on a year in these leadership roles within the organization!

Officer Positions:

• Board President: Jadzia (she/her)

• Vice President: Vanessa (she/her)

• Secretary: Mina (she/her)

• Treasurer: lumen (fae/faer)

Division Directors:

• Events Director: Jadzia (she/her)

• Human Resources (HR) Director: Skitty (she/her)

• Operations Director: Vanessa (she/her)

• Communications Director: Ari (she/they)

The Board also voted on a new board member during this meeting. Please welcome Huckleberry (she/they) to the leadership team! You can read her bio here!

Have feedback, questions, or concerns? Visit our Contact Us page for more info.

Community Matters: Message from the President

By Eirikah Delaunay

While the Board is still analyzing all the insights you shared in the recent membership survey, there were a number of messages that came through loud and clear:

• 27% of the 303 respondents were former members, and 27% have not attended an in-person event during the last year.

• The reasons shared for lack of attendance were overwhelmingly related to the inaccessibility of the Gallery Erato space, whether that inaccessibility was due to parking issues, concerns about the neighborhood, or challenges with the facility itself (stairs, air quality, etc.). Other top reasons were personal in nature–time crunches related to work, etc.

• Respondents could select as many preferred areas as desired for an additional space dedicated to CSPC activities. The top three selections were the East Side, North Seattle, and a continued presence at Gallery Erato, all with a 64% selection rate. Snohomish County was a distant 4th place with 37% of respondents. There were also numerous write-in comments, many of which suggested a South End location, which was not originally included in the survey due to other organizations already providing service in that area. We will dig into those comments in greater detail in the coming weeks.

• 62% of respondents said they would attend events in Bellevue more than occasionally, and 40% said they would volunteer either in person or behind the scenes if events at a Bellevue space were an option.

• Only 69 of 303 respondents had volunteered in the last year, although more than twice that number had volunteered sometime in the past. Again, the write-in responses to the question about volunteer roles was illuminating in terms of the breadth of service this community has generated during our 25 years.

• The top priorities of respondents based on our initial scan of the comments are accessibility in many different forms (good parking AND public transit access, more masked events, greater inclusion of BIPOC members, other disability access, etc.), stronger cultivation of and support for volunteers, and more events—parties with different themes, in-person munches and game nights, and education. Again, there is a lot of rich data that we are continuing to analyze toward taking action in alignment with member voices.

However, the Board has made progress on many fronts in the last month: in addition to extending our contract with our Operations Consultant, 7, we are now finalizing the job description for a paid role that will manage our daily operations to alleviate some of the burden on Board members and other volunteers; we have had an initial consultation with a non-profit attorney for advice on how we can better recognize our volunteers without creating tax liabilities for them or the CSPC; and we have rented a storage unit and moved CSPC inventory out of Larry Grella’s donated space and into paid storage. Huge thanks to Larry for eight years of donating space at his home to house CSPC property—a $16,000 value over that time period.

September 2024 is my last meeting as President of the CSPC Board, and October will be my last meeting as a Board member. While the last three years of service to the CSPC has been intense in terms of time and energy spent, I feel good about spending this time giving back to the community that has meant so much to me over the last 13 years. 

I have enormous faith in the incoming Board officers to continue leading this organization into its next 25 years, and I want to encourage the membership to get involved whenever and however you can. Ari will be sharing more later about an opportunity to serve a one-year term as a Community Board member, or on the Nominating Committee that will oversee the election process for those two Board positions, and we are working diligently to create a more accessible and actionable job board for the many volunteer roles that aren’t solely focused on running events. 

Thank you all for all you do to make the CSPC the community—and family—it is for so many of us. <3

Broaden Your Mind

Other Community Events to Enjoy!

The CSPC throws amazing parties and hosts many important discussions on various topics. But luckily, we live in a place where there are many more options to dive into sex- and body-positive culture. The list below is just a sampling of some great events coming up in the next month.

We include non-CSPC events in every issue. If you have an event suggestion, please email Marissa at newsletter@thecspc.org and it might make it into our next issue!

September 14 

Circus Etc. Cabaret | Sans Solos ($25–$40 | in person)

In the final installment of the Circus Etc season: “Sans Solos” puts acrobatic collaboration in the spotlight. In “Sans Solos”, artists from the SANCA and ECTA staff and the region will perform new work in the form of duos, trios, and groups. With its first onstage appearance, the Group and Banquine Acrobatics collective will grace the stage with swinging, flipping, and towering threehighs.

September 19–October 5

HumpFest ($25 | in person)

We're making HUMP! history in 2024 with another all-new lineup featuring 25 MORE brand-new, adult short films, and there's something for everyone in the second half of this year's offerings! You'll experience smokin' hot paranormal encounters, a mind-bending space carnival, spine-tingling ASMR, all the thermal eye candy you can eat, and so much more. It's double the sex, double the kink, (double the pizza?), and double the FUN!

September 20 – 21

Kremwerk | Kremfest ($24–$48 | in person)

We're thrilled to welcome you back for the 7th annual Kremfest—a two-day celebration of cutting-edge electronic music! This year's festival brings together an exciting mix of local and international DJs, producers, and artists, showcasing a diverse range of electronic music genres.

September 21 – December 7

Consent Academy | Consent and Leadership Series ($300+ | in person)

Consent and Leadership is a unique opportunity for leaders to deepen their understanding of consent, power, trauma, and accountability. It consists of 8 workshops and one optional lab, each exploring the knowledge, skills, and practices anyone who finds themselves in a position of influence or authority needs in order to foster a consensual space.

September 27 – October 5

Theatre Off Jackson | Hamlet, a Literary Burlesque ($25+ | in person)

Noveltease Theatre, Seattle’s premier literary burlesque company, invites you to avenge a murder most foul in their hauntingly tantalizing production of Hamlet. In this carnal and bloody adaptation of the Shakespearean drama, a young Hamlet knows that literary burlesque is just the thing to catch the conscience of the king.

October 3

First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square (free | in person)

Pioneer Square’s First Thursday Art Walk is the longest running established art walk in the nation. Since the early 1960’s, Pioneer Square has provided a haven for Seattle’s artistic community, housing esteemed galleries, innovative exhibition spaces, and working artist studios alike.

October 10 – 20

Seattle Queer Film Festival ($150+ | in person and online)

Seattle Queer Film Festival has been an important part of the Seattle queer film community since 1996, and has remained the largest of its kind in the PNW. Since then the festival has expanded to intentionally showcase stories reflecting the vast spectrums and intersections of our queer communities. 

Editor’s note for all events*

As a reminder, these are non-CSPC events. We include them as a way to open your mind to possible other experiences, but we have no control over them, their content, or their missions.