One of the most eagerly awaited events in North America is very nearly set to begin festivities. Lovers of all things sensual, erotic and truly hedonistic have been looking forward to the ‘commencement of consensual hostilities’ in Toronto, beginning with a Martini “Industry Night” evening on Thursday Night, and ending with a “Wind Down” wine and cheese function late Monday afternoon (Victoria Day in Canada).

It’s everything else in-between (Friday through Sunday), however, that is sure to become the stuff in which legends are born.

Torture Garden Toronto is an ambitious fetish weekend that is the brainchild of Ontario promoter Craig Galbreath. Other cities in North America have their own weekend-long fetish events, to be sure – but Torture Garden Toronto is truly set to become a very unique (dare I say ‘revolutionary’) experience. What started as a single evening of pandemonium a little under one year ago has blossomed into a full-scale, weekend-long fetish festival. All of the meticulous planning and patient organization is about to culminate in a whirling frenzy of personal expression and celebration. It’s somewhat of a risky venture – evolving a tried-and-true international franchise consisting of a single evening’s salutations and gyrations into an entire five day, continuous party – but it’s a risk Craig felt was one worth taking, and long, long overdue.

In order to help reduce, if not eliminate, any potential for unforeseen disasters (and by his own admission, in order to “get a look at how the real founding experts do it, up close and personal”) Craig recently traveled to the lair of the original Torture Garden duo, David Wood and Allen Pelling, in London, England. For a few intense days, Craig found himself immersed within the frenzied hotbed of organizational activity that goes into planning the flagship Torture Garden event in London. He came away “humbled and with a much greater appreciation” of the immense amount of work needed to keep the franchise going in Europe. When he returned to Toronto, he felt absolutely and completely prepared, and confident, that his landmark idea to turn Torture Garden into a weekend-long celebration of all things fetish would not only be well received, but had a realistic chance to become an annual, revered part of the North American fetish party-circuit ‘landscape’. “The amazing thing is,”  Craig said, “David and Allen are just like me: a regular couple of guys, with regular routines, who just happen to really love throwing a good party for people.”

According to Craig, the feedback he got from Londoners was extremely positive and encouraging. “I came back knowing that (expanding) Torture Garden as a weekend-long party was a very good idea.”

It would be impossible to adequately do justice to, and provide exhaustive details, for each and every aspect that will make up the massive undertaking that is being called “Toronto’s Fetish Weekend.” The main events on Saturday and Sunday evenings – the eagerly anticipated, landmark Torture Garden Ball itself and the Medical Mayhem Night – are sure to attract feverish attention from attendees. But there is a lot more happening during Torture Garden Toronto, and what follows is a brief outline of some of the other exceptional things one can expect to experience during the entire weekend.

There is also a “general transportation assistance” segment that (hopefully) should help those not familiar with Canada’s largest city get around to the various venues timely – and comfortably.

 

1). Torture Garden Seminars

On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, Toronto’s Lord Morpheoushas put together an amazing and simply “can’t be missed” series of seminars designed to give attendees a little more depth, and direction, in some of the more extreme aspects of intense SM play. While at first glance some of these seminars may appear intimidating to the casual observer, the reality is that Lord Morpheous (best-selling author of How to Be Kinkyand a well-known and respected bondage artist and photographer whose stellar work has been featured at numerous events across North America) has assembled an incredibly talented collection of facilitators and instructors that are quite capable of offering expert instruction in their disciplines to both the “casual” and the “hardcore” practitioner. “There are always classes, at every large event, that offer instruction on the basics,” Lord Morpheous said. “Our aim was to appeal to those that wanted a little more. People that come (to Torture Garden Toronto) are absolutely certain to meet more than enough people during the weekend that will be perfectly happy to show them some of those basics. Our seminar roster is designed for those who want to experience something a bit more extreme, and edgy”.

To that end, that roster of educators is simply formidable: Lord Morpheous is proud to have secured the services of a gentleman who goes by the name of Dunter who will be giving instruction on Pressure Point Control. Speaking from personal experience, my beautiful life partner Lady J (who happens to be quite expert and qualified in the same discipline thanks to years to military police interrogation training) took this exact same class during the Montreal Fetish Weekend in 2009 – and we both came away extremely impressed with both his teaching skills and his knowledge. TG attendees who may not have considered going to any, let alone one, of the seminars at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto may want to think twice and at the very least consider going to the Pressure Point Control seminar. Dunter is an excellent teacher, an engaging man – and you are guaranteed to come out of that class with an enthusiastic new knowledge about how to effectively administer “control” over your submissive partner (and without leaving any kind of mark).

Lord Morpheous himself will be conducting, with the assistance of a striking beauty by the name of elle, an excellent class on Saturday afternoon that focuses on Sex Bondage Safety for pleasure and and pain. This in-depth seminar is a much needed lesson in how to avoid, but also treat, injuries that could occur during a sexually-charged bondage scene. It is unmistakable truth that many people who practice bondage in the bedroom may encounter some unfortunate ‘accidents’ during their encounters: this seminar aims to teach those with a love of bondage how, first, to prevent those accidents from occurring in the first place, and second, how to treat some of those mishaps properly should they actually occur.

Some of the other seminars include lessons in edge play (Beyond the Toy Bag, given by an up and coming educator named Cub Dan, who is getting a stellar reputation for his extremely personable, funny and expert hands-on instruction technique), a single-tail whip class, and a (not for the squeamish) advanced class on advanced suturing. Full details of each of these exceptional seminars can be found at the Torture Garden Toronto Seminars page on the website.

2). Torture Garden Performances

While some of the performers scheduled to appear during Saturday and Sunday’s “main events” are well known to fetish party attendees across North America and Europe (I Was Cured flesh hook suspension artists, Rubber Doll, Vivid Angel, Satomi, the Tokyo Love Doll), there is an equally impressive array of local lights that simply shouldn’t be missed. The amazing artist, whose canvas consists of the human body (i.e., she’s a body painter extraordinaire) known as Ark Angel will be actively displaying her incredibly talents during the main Ball on Saturday night. While some of the other Main Stage performances are certain to garner much enthusiasm from the adoring masses, those that take the time to view the sheer, jaw-dropping sensuality and raw beauty that is Ark Angel’s “Performance Art” are in for a real, up close and intensely personal, treat.

Kink Engineering, that affable and lovable slightly-crazed professional engineering duo from Toronto will be showcasing their newest creations (specifically: Vacuum Beds and other assorted kinked-up engineering marvels that must be seen to be completely appreciated). Mad Scientist and Archean have been working nearly non-stop around the clock for weeks preparing to debut their newest, mechanically gorgeous, unequivocally perverted and diabolically delicious new “complete restraint systems”. Look for them both Saturday and Sunday nights – you’re certain to be tantalized and tempted to try one of their creations out for yourself.

Saturday and Sunday evening will also feature a fantastic Aerial Performance by some of Canada’s best up-and-coming death-defying young talents. Anyone who has ever seen a Cirque du Soleil show (in person or on video) will recognize the artistry, strength and concentration it takes to perform, several feet above a stage (and a crowd, for that matter), with nothing preventing a serious fall but a giant length of fabric wrapped tightly and expertly about various body parts. The Aerial Performers have been a staple of fetish and sexuality-related trade shows for a few seasons now, but as truly pleasing and astounding a visual feat it is to watch them perform their various aerial ballets, they never seem to get a lot of “respect” in the press. Trust me on this: you don’t want to miss the Aerial Performance this year at Torture Garden.

There are a number of excellent side events scheduled throughout the weekend at Torture Garden, including and not limited to acts including a Fire Dance performance; fetish photographer displays, rope bondage displays and, of course (for those who wish to express themselves through the beauty of sadomasochistic pursuit), a good array of equipment available in the Dungeon play areas.

3). Torture Garden Fashion Shows

Sunday evening’s celebrations include what promises to be an amazing retinue of sartorial splendor from a number of Toronto’s best alternative and fetish fashion designers. New collections from Northbound Leather (always a crowd favorite!), Ego Assassin (sheer artistry in latex), Plastik Wrap (heaven for PVC enthusiasts), FUTURSTATE (highly stylized, futuristic compilations in a variety of materials) and Artiface (self-described “odd assortment of over the top, shiny and well-fitted classics”). This is the first time within recent memory that a fetish event fashion show has combined and featured the very best of design in the three main, coveted fetish trappings: Leather, Latex and PVC.

4). Travel Guide – Main Venues

The main venues are within a relatively confined, central core:

The Opera House: Site of the main Torture Garden Ball and the Medical Mayhem party.

Location: 735 Queen St. East in Toronto. Accessibility:Queen Street Route 501 Streetcars (which run 24 hours) from the host hotel, the Sheraton Centre, and all points along Queen St. Transit fairs in Toronto are $3.00 (one way ride only). The main intersection is Queen St. and Broadview Ave., just East of Toronto’s downtown core. Taxi from Sheraton Centre will run about $10.00 – $13.00 (depending on traffic).

Sheraton Centre Hotel: Host hotel and host Seminar location

Location: 123 Queen St. West in Toronto. Accessibility: You could not ask for a more central location for your host hotel. The Sheraton Centre is located right in the very heart of downtown Toronto, across the street from the futuristic and iconic Toronto City Hall complex. The hotel is approximately one and a half blocks from Toronto’s main downtown drag (Yonge Street). The nearest main intersection is Bay St. The Queen Street Route 501 Streetcars run 24 hours, and there is a stop directly in front of the hotel on either side of the street.

If you’re planning on attending some of the smaller event offerings, the addresses for Club Wicked and Café Taste (Thursday night and Monday afternoon) are posted on the Torture Garden Toronto website. Taxi fares will be slightly higher to travel to the other venues – but the Queen Street Streetcar will take you right there for the same $3.00. Don’t worry about appearing too “out of place” on the Toronto Transit System: This is Queen Street, after all: the locals are quite used to outlandish fashion combinations and fetish wear …

Those that wish to have a complete itinerary of scheduled events can visit the Torture Garden Toronto website. The event details are perfectly laid out and expertly given a brief yet concise description. The website also includes companion website links, event times and venue addresses as well as a general overview of the weekend’s performances and seminars.

If you thinking of skipping Torture Garden Toronto, for whatever reason – don’t. If you were “sitting on the fence” about attending – let yourself fall into the Garden side of the yard. Other weekend-long festivals charge more, and offer less. You are certain to be satisfied, sensitized, and absolutely satiated.

Torture Garden Toronto begins in earnest on May 20th and runs until May 24th in a number of locations in central Toronto. VIP passes, weekend passes and tickets for individual events and seminars are available online, or for pickup in person at Northbound Leather(586 Yonge St., Toronto, Ontario).

(All photos previously published and courtesy of Toronto Garden Toronto and Toronto Garden UK.)