A few short years ago, a young fellow living in Toronto started hosting small-scale get-togethers (with a fetish theme, of course) at his modest home. It didn’t take very long – one event, actually – for that man to realize he was going to need a bigger space if he wanted to continue to try and host an event that would bring friends and other like-minded people together. So, this young man – who has never used a “scene” moniker and is known simply as “Craig” (or “Craiger”, to his friends) – on the advice of some close compatriots decided to take his house gatherings and make them a little larger in order to accomodate the demand he was getting from people wishing to attend one of his off-the-scale fun gatherings.

Thus was the first Subspace event created in Toronto – and that event has continued to be a major draw for both young and impressionable, and old and experienced, SM practitioners for quite some time.

But Craig soon found he was running into the same old problem: The demand and desire for attendance at the Subspace event was just getting too overwhelming. When asked what the solution was, Craig responded to his closest confidants in the only way he really could: “We need a bigger house.”

Without going into a major history of Subspace, suffice to say that the eventual result from the demand for more and more space – and larger attendance – led Craig to cross paths with Alan Pelling and David Wood, the original founders and facilitators who created London’s revolutionary Torture Garden club concept. While the “franchise” had been featured in several European cities from Paris to Moscow and has even made appearances in Tokyo and New York City over the years, Toronto had never really received any serious consideration as a possible host city for the iconic weekend-long event. That is until Craig managed to convince them that Toronto was indeed a perfect choice, and more than a suitable worldly cousin, as the location for the first Canadian iteration of the globe-trekking party machine that has become Torture Garden “International”.

So where do we start? Certainly there were superlatives – it goes without saying the costumes, the make-up, the accessories were beyond exemplary, of course and as one would expect at such a gathering – and as with every first-time large scale event, Torture Garden Toronto did indeed have its share of problems. So it would probably be best to speak a little about the downsides to the weekend, and in the spirit of keeping an eye on improvement for next year. So let’s see … the downsides … hmmm … give Your Humble Narrator a few moments to think and I’m sure I’ll come up with at least something of a downside to the weekend …

Truth be told, there really were very few negative things to be “picked on” about Torture Garden Toronto. In the spirit of objectivity, however, it should be said that perhaps the venue chosen (a rather old and somewhat decrepitly adorned relic known as The Opera House) for Saturday night’s main event wasn’t the absolute best possible location for such a staggering event. My life mate and loving partner in this life, the incomparable Lady J, didn’t find the venue quite as unwelcoming as I did: and I do have to stress my criticisms here are quite, quite miniscule. Apart from having completely inadequate bathroom facilities; two sets of stairs that would make most amusement park ”Wacky Shack” designers envious (there were more than just a few complaints from the high-heeled and booted party goers about those desperately-in-need-of-repair stairs, believe me); and perhaps maybe a tad too many people crammed into the confines of the old Opera House at the height of the festivities, there really wasn’t anything alarming or glowing wrong that could be pointed out – let alone harped upon. There was an enthusiastic, well-behaved, excited and delectable throng in attendance Saturday night – probably more than even the original Torture Garden founders could anticipate. And I’d heard whispers that Craig was a bit concerned about attendance? He really shouldn’t have worried. Toronto’s fetish community did very well in welcoming not only the event to Canada itself – but also being cordial and helpful to visiting internationals who made the jaunt into our lovely city to partake in the weekend’s festivities.

A point could be made about the abruptness and outright rude comportment of some of the Opera House staff: Craig’s Subspace parties are reknown for excellent staffers providing excellent service, and in the case of Torture Garden Toronto the “usual staff of suspects” were indeed present and were as amazingly friendly and helpful as they ever are. However, in fairness I don’t believe Craig had any control over the Opera House front of house staff or the beverage servers – and they were sometimes brutal. It doesn’t behoove venue staff well when they spend some time showing open contempt and whispering ridiculing remarks about certain guests (and their attire) as they walked through the doors or make snide remarks while pouring guest’s drinks. These incidents were not widespread, though: These were isolated incidents and, frankly, I’m quite sure similar “incidents” happen at nightclubs everywhere on each and every night and occasion. But I have to have something from a “downside” perspective to report on, don’t I?

Conversely, I could go on and on with enthusiastic endorsements of what went right at Torture Garden Toronto. I’ll limit my comments to a few brief highlights, though, for brevity’s sake.

For starters, allow me to say this: Lady J and I were absolutely destroyed and simply not really wanting to venture out into the night for Saturday’s main event. We had spent the better part of the week – and especially the previous two days – trying desperately to finish a move from my beloved little loft apartment into a much larger, more comfortable house-sized dwelling. Without divulging too much information, suffice to say that the move went horrifically wrong at some points – and while we managed to get everything actually done (I’m still trying to figure out how we did it, really), we certainly were in absolutely no shape (let alone positive mind frame) to attend a fetish party, no matter how unique and ground-breaking for Toronto it may have been (and eventually was). Regardless, I had a job to do, and having gotten somewhat closer to Craig in the previous month leading up to Torture Garden Toronto I felt I couldn’t let him down by not giving the event my fullest, professional attention and doing an objective reporting about his selfless and tireless efforts to unleash this somewhat uncertain new venture upon a hungry and fetish-famished, clamouring crowd of Southern Ontario kinky types.

So with heavy eyes and even heavier boot-clad feet, Lady J and I trudged down Queen Street and sidled as non-conspicuously as we could inside the doors of The Opera House and entered the mystifying confines of the Torture Garden. There is only a single thing I can say about that very moment, my friends: We knew the moment the we walked through the front doors that we were in the presence of something very special. There was an undeniable electricity in the air – very different from anything we’d ever experienced before in Toronto – and both Lady J and I were immediately re-energized. We spent the next several hours delighting in the fashion shows  and having our ears drink in voraciously the excellent selection of music (the stage was at a perfect height and visible to all, of course, being an old theatre). We marvelled at the well-designed (and even better maintained and monitored) playspace areas (coyly and brilliantly staged in what would have been the old balcony of the theatre and the old projection/lighting booth behind it) and we gaped in wonder and with excited whispers at the various exhibitions that enveloped the perimeter of the main party and dance floor (we both agreed that we simply must have one of those vacuum benches manufactured for our own lovely new Dungeon!). I wanted to spend some time in discussion with a talented body painter/artist who goes by the name Ark Angel, but she was so incredibly busy she barely had a chance to look up once and take her focus away from the frenzied pace of her amazing work. Her living masterpieces livened up the halls, doorways and vestibules of every corner of The Opera House throughout the evening and certainly provided a certain dramatic flair (and counterpoint to all the leather, latex and PVC for that matter).

While the somewhat expected presence of extreme body piercers, suspension artists and body modification aficiandos (which have become the trademark of any number of Torture Garden photo spreads in any number of fetish-related magazines throughout the years) was indeed sorely lacking, the sheer level of artistry displayed in the costumes and ensembles was certainly shades above the norm usually enjoyed and referred to as “eye candy” by the adoring Toronto fetish crowd. You simply couldn’t turn your head without your eyes being deliciously assaulted by the visage of some ethereal creature that you just couldn’t tear your gaze away from. In that respect, and despite the absence of the “over the top and extreme” practitioners, Torture Garden Toronto certainly compared favourably with, and holds up well when compared to, its European, Asian and American counterparts.

Yes, it is true that there were indeed other events other than the main event on Saturday night. There was a “Meet and Greet” on the Friday evening at the Reverb location (where the Subspace events are generally held every month) that featured an eye-popping performance by a rather risque human circus known as I Was Cured, who contributed an astonishing piercing and suspension display (by all accounts); and there was a closing event on Sunday evening in a much smaller, off the normally-beaten-track nightclub known as Club Neutral. Both of these events, while adequately attended and appreciated by those who came, simply paled in comparison to the grandeur that was the main gathering at The Opera House on Saturday night. Torture Garden Toronto was, quite emphatically, the best gathering of fetish folk – and the best outright party – this regional area has seen since last year’s Northbound Leather annual event (and we are quite certain this year’s Tribe by Northbound in October is going to be one amazing and unforgettable adventure as well). The North East region, and especially Southern Ontario, is becoming quite the in-demand hotbed of activity for fetish-minded folk looking to attend larger and more “upscale” events – and our area is quite fortunate to have mainstays such as Northbound Leather and their excellent array of events appropriately complimented by new, exciting ventures such as Torture Garden.

This coming weekend, the journey continues, as Lady J and I are off to report on the various happenings and events scheduled for the Montreal Fetish Weekend. If any of you dedicated fetish folk will be in Montreal September 4th to 6th, please do stop and say hello – and let us know your thoughts and feedback. It will be a perfect way to close out a truly tremendous summer of undeniable fetish fun. We’ll be celebrating the arrival of Autumn with a fantastic time in Canada’s own version of “The Eternal City”, the beautiful Ville de Montreal – why don’t the lot of you come and celebrate with us?

While you’re at it, why not plan ahead and reserve your spots for Torture Garden Toronto next year? If this initial effort is any kind of indication of the quality of good times to be had by all at future iterations, then next year’s event is certainly best described as a “can’t miss weekend” on your 2010 Summer calendars. I’m certainly more than impressed with this year’s offering …

Kardynyl SynysTyr

(Photos from Torture Garden Toronto will be available for view shortly and upon approval by the event organizers. Photos of Torture Garden courtesy of Torture Garden Toronto website.)