For the first time ever, this year’s Palm Springs Pride Festival will feature Fetish in the Outfield, our very own Leather Realm!

It’s an adult place (18+) where you can feel comfortable hanging out in your gear (no bare asses or cocks, please), check out exhibits from the world-famous Carter-Johnson Leather Library, see workshops and demos, and even dance!

A whole bunch of our members and friends have been working very hard to create this cool new venue. James Neff and Christopher Simon are the official coordinators. Drew Kramer will be doing whip demos. Keith Heisz (Fuzzybuns) will provide boot black services. Mac Valentine will be spinning at Sunday’s Tea Dance. Plus the great men from FetishMenSanDiego (Papa Tony, Eli Correa, and more) will be lending a hand too. They’ve been such great mentors to us, plus they’ve got years of experience helping out with their very own Leather Realm.

The Pride Festival is held at Palm Springs Stadium in Sunrise Park and Fetish in the Outfield will be smack dab in the middle of it all (in the outfield, of course!). In the past, our fetish community has barely been acknowledged at Pride. Now that we’re not only being welcomed, but celebrated, let’s all make a special effort to turn out—and help out!

Schedule

Saturday, November 3

10:00 am: Carter-Johnson Leather Library Exhibit Opens (Read more about it here.)
11:00 am-Noon: Meet and Greet with Viola Johnson (See below for more about her!)
Noon-4:00 pm: Demos/Workshops (See the comments below this post for the current schedule.)
4:00-6:00 pm: Dancing in the Dugout Tea Dance featuring DJ Brodie Newport

Sunday, November 4

10:00 am: Carter-Johnson Leather Library Exhibit Opens
Noon-4:00 pm: Demos/Workshops (See the comments below this post for the current schedule.)
4:00-6:00 pm: Dancing in the Dugout Tea Dance featuring DJ Mac Valentine

Volunteers Needed

Jim and Christopher could really use our help to make this first-ever endeavor a big success.

Got a skill you’d like to show off? There’s still plenty of room for workshops and demos on both days. Contact Jim ([email protected]) to get on the schedule.

Also, there are plenty of jobs for greeters, library monitors, info booth staffers and other assorted helpers. Shifts run from 10:00 am – 2:30 pm and 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm each day. Volunteers get in for free each day (even if they only work on one), plus they get a stylish tee shirt. To sign up, fill out a volunteer application at the PS Pride site, look for the Fetish in the Outfield section and pick the shift(s) you’d like.

Note: As of October 23 there are still six slots available, so don’t be afraid to sign up!

Lifetime Achievement: Viola Johnson

[fancy_images width=”140″ height=”140″] [image]https://desertfetishauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Viola-Johnson_200x200.jpg[/image] [/fancy_images]

By the way, Fetish in the Outfield is not the only way in which our community is being celebrated. Leather activist, educator, writer and archivist Viola Johnson has been bestowed with one of this year’s Palm Springs Pride Lifetime Achievement Awards! A mentor and confidante to many in the fetish world, she has a protective fondness for the ‘boys / bois’ of the community and those who choose to serve as slaves and submissives, and is often referred to as the “Mother of all Submissives.” Read more about her on the Pride Honorees Page. It’s fantastic to have such a leather icon honored in this year’s celebration.