Characters are the vehicles your reader will use to explore your worlds, so it's important to make them shine. Join the TES Writers' Group for a discussion about how to make realistic, relatable characters, regardless of genre or style. Optional Assignment: Write one to three paragraphs about a complete stranger you see around the city. Room 3A TES Members $5 Students & Military with ID $10 Reciprocal Groups $10 Non-Members $20 Cash Only

One of the most misunderstood and under explored subgroups of the kink community is fetish workers. Slut shamed, expected to offer any and all kink and/or sexual services without prior negotiation, told they aren’t ‘real’ Doms or subs, and in various ways excluded from the general kink population, professional fetish workers have in the past not necessarily participated as openly in our society. In an effort to help bridge the chasm between fetish workers and non-professional kinksters, TES has gathered a panel of fetish workers to come speak about their experiences and answer questions. Panelists include: Elena de Luca Hera Chevalier Megan McCord Come learn about the world of professional fetish workers, including: Are fetish workers sex workers? What is the relationship between fetish work and sex work? What to expect (and not expect!) when you hire a professional fetish worker What challenges professional fetish workers face Some stereotypes that our panelists have encountered over the years, which of them are false, and which of them are true How our panelists started as fetish workers What to look for (and what to to avoid) when looking for a professional fetish worker TES Members $5 Students & Military with ID $10 Reciprocal Groups $10 Non-Members $20 Cash Only

THIS CLASS HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO SPACE CONFLICTS. Look for it to be rescheduled March 7th!   In 2011, Barkas started to develop his personal way of doing ropes, which was very stormy and overwhelming. His Sensei Osada Steve called it ranboo and since then, this way of doing ropes became one of the well-known styles in the world of kinbaku (Source) This class provides an introduction to the key principles of Ranboo and several hands-on exercises to explore tying in this style. Please note that this may be a physically intense class for both the top and bottom. Requirements: 3+ lengths of 25-30ft rope Single column tie KeepOnKeepinOn is a NYC based rope educator and kinkster. He has presented at national events across the US, such as TES Fest and Shibaricon, and at a variety of local events throughout North America. He has been interested in rope since 2013 when he first discovered kink. While interested in many disciplines of rope bondage, his style has been primarily influenced by his friend, mentor, and teacher: barkas. Outside of kink KeepOnKeepinOn has a deep interest in psychology, neuroscience and emerging technology. If you see him at an event, please stop by and say hello! TES Members $5 Students & Military with ID $10 Reciprocal Groups $10 Non-Members $20 Cash Only LOCATION TBA

Open and free to all members with a membership card. Come hear about the work the board has been doing and learn how to get involved!

Learn how to arouse, tempt and tease your partner! In this partner-oriented class, we’ll go over the basics for how to restrain your partner then Up the Level by adding the nuances that make bondage Sexy and Hot. In the first half of the class we’ll be going over the techniques of how to tie and restrain someone. Solo participants can partner up to learn. In the second half we’ll be kicking it into intimate gear so Top/bottom Dom/sub pairs who know each other are recommended. Due to the volume of material, there will not be time to allow each partner to tie. Bring some soft rope (yes, cotton works for this class) 25-30’ in length, ¼” or 6mm in diameter and other fun things you may like to tie with, like scarves or ties. A yoga mat or cushy big towel is recommended too. Some Hot Pink and Red Jute will be available for sale! TES Members $5 Students & Military with ID $10 Reciprocal Groups $10 Non-Members $20 Cash Only

Using a mixture of our insecurities, verbal abuse, situational embarrassment, certain types of pain and restraint and humiliating tasks we will indulge our darker desires in either giving or receiving humiliation. Through this, we facilitate growth in our D/s scenes and relationships. Allowing the possibility of inducing subspace in our bottoms more deeply and quickly through simple action using consensual humiliation and degradation. A working understanding of informed enthusiastic consent is necessary. Bio: Dax Volpe is a Queer lifestyle Dominant loving an operating out of NYC with the support of his polyamorous leather family. Dax is Leatherman of Color 2018 and uses his title to bring positive change in his local leather community by way of diversity and making kink and Leather more accessible to the next generation. Dax is an active board member of the Folsom Street East Festival Community as well as an ONYX NY/NE pledge and brings that spirit of brotherhood and community planning to everything he strives for as a Leatherman.   TES Members $5 Students & Military with ID $10 Reciprocal Groups $10 Non-Members $20 Cash Only

There are many bottoms in the lifestyle with medical, physical or emotional issues that are often overlooked as play partners because of their ailments. Trophy Wife is going to lead an open panel discussion with medical & mental health professionals to educate the community on how to play safely with someone that may have a trigger, medical, physical or emotional condition. The bottom must be willing to fully educate their top and disclose their condition but the top should also be willing to learn & educate themselves to ensure the best scene possible. "Why not me" focuses on the positive outcome of playing with someone that may have a physical, mental or medical limitation. TES Members $5 Students & Military with ID $10 Reciprocal Groups $10 Non-Members $20 Cash Only

Stay tuned for more info about this panel on mental health and kink! TES Members $5 Students & Military with ID $10 Reciprocal Groups $10 Non-Members $20 Cash Only

Are you new to the scene? New to the NYC area? Looking to get back into the scene after a long layoff? Just want to hang out with some fun and kinky people on a Sat night, in a safe, no pressure atmosphere with knowledgeable people to guide you if needed? Come alone or with partner(s). No dress code. No admission fee to the munch, just pay for your food and drinks. We’ll be in the upstairs seating area by 7:30PM and then, we’re heading for the Flirt-de-lis Masquerade Play Party @ the Parthenon at 9PM. We're meeting and ending earlier so we can take part in the Show Us Your Kits ice-breaker game at the party. The TES party is optional, but only open to members and their guests or munch attendees. We will be on the second floor of the Bread and Butter Café, located at 419 Park Ave S, New York, NY 10016, on the corner at 29th Street. Here are the Do’s and Do Not’s of the Munch: DO’s Be friendly and courteous to each other. It is OK to ask each others’ scene names, roles, and fetishes. If you do not have a scene name/ Fetlife handle, have a pseudonym. Get permission before touching someone else’s belongings. Get permission before touching someone else. It is OK to drink responsibly at the munch. Respect others’ privacy. DO NOT’s Do NOT ask attendees their personal information (real name, middle name, last name, where they live, work, breed, go to school or favorite Starbucks location). Do NOT touch others without their permission. Do NOT touch others’ belongings without their permission. Do NOT get intoxicated before or during the munch. You will be told to go home. Do NOT kink shame. Sometimes someone else’s kink is not yours. Appreciate their differences. Do NOT bring outside food or beverages to the munch. Do NOT take pictures or videos during the munch. We prefer to maintain an environment of anonymity. Do NOT ask attendees their personal information (real name, middle name, last name, where they live, work, go to school, where they grew up, etc). We will be headed afterwards to the TES PARTY @ THE PARTHENON with a special discount….just $30 admission for attendees! Questions? Write us at novice@tes.org.

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it’s jam-packed with holidays, and this year, Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day are literally back-to-back. Join TES on Saturday, February 24th as we celebrate this one-two punch with our kinky holiday mash-up, the Flirt-de-lis Masquerade Play Party!!! In the spirit of the celebration, masks, bodypaint, and other costumes are encouraged, but not required. We have a very special door prize we’ll be giving away (details below), so come in your best dress and boost your chances to win. Not sure what else to bring to the party? Forget something at home? Not to worry, we are thrilled to have Struck Toys as our exclusive party vendor, and as an added bonus, they’re offering 25% all night to our attendees. But that’s not all! Early bird purchases in the first hour of the party get 50% off! But wait! There’s more! Struck Toys is donating a special Mardi Gras-themed flogger that we’ll be giving away to one special winner! All night our Krewe-du-Kink will be giving out points for things like costumes, great scenes, volunteering, and generally being awesome to one another. Whoever collects the most points by the end of the night will be crowned the winner!!! Speaking of special toys, do you have one you just love and want to show off? Join us at 10pm for a kinky ice-breaker game we’re calling “Show Us Your Kits”! We’ll take turns showing off our favorite things in our toy bags in this kinky version of show and tell. It’s another great way to earn points toward winning that special prize. But that’s not all. Join us for our pre-party munch at the Bread and Butter Café from 7:30-9pm. The munch is a GREAT way to meet people in a low-key, non-kinky setting. You'll find more info about it here! 8pm-2am at Parthenon Studios $25 for TES members, $30 for munch attendees, $35 for other non-members [] RSVP on Fetlife THIS IS AN EXCLUSIVE PARTY. In order to attend this party you must be: - a TES member - the guest of a TES member - an affiliate organization member - the guest of an affiliate organization member - an attendee of the pre-party munch arriving with the munch leaders If you are not yet a member, please consider becoming one today! Click Here Looking for a playdate? Please check out our official playdate thread on Fetlife, or come to the party and make a wish on our wishboard. Simply write down what you’re looking for on the board and take the corresponding number and stick it somewhere everyone can see. And if you’re interest in something written on the board, simply look for the person wearing that number. And there’s nothing like tossing a little money in the ol’ wishing well to help your wish come true, so please consider donating what you can. All proceeds go to benefit NCSF! As always, TES is a volunteer-based organization, and great events like this can’t happen without you! We need volunteers to work the door, coat check, DM, as well as up with setup and cleanup, so please consider volunteering your time. Those volunteering 1 hour of their time get in for half price, and those volunteering at least 2 hours get in free! To volunteer, please contact Zero at zero@tes.org!