|
The kinkiest weekend of the year for Chicagoans
Yes, it's true. Every Memorial Day weekend, the creme de la creme of the kink communities from all over the country head to Chicago to attend two major conventions, International Mr. Leather and ShibariCon. IML is one of the world's largest gatherings of gay leathermen anywhere in the world and has been held in Chicago for over 30 years. ShibariCon is an annual gathering of BDSM and rope bondage enthusiasts and includes play parties and demonstrations. It's an exciting weekend for kinky Chicagoans and every for those vanilla ones, the people watching in downtown Chicago can be just as fun. Unlike last week's NATO nightmare, all the men dressed in uniform downtown are here to play, so no need to be intimidated.
My favorite part of the weekend is checking out IML's Leather Market, which includes dozens and dozens of different sex toy, clothing, porn, and BDSM gear vendors. Yesterday, I visited with a friend, eyeing all sorts of goodies I would've loved to get my hands upon. Bondage bedsheets, silicone dildos in a variety of shapes, latex animal suits, leather soap and incense, handmade corsets, and of course, plenty of whips, crops, paddles, and floggers. Nearly every kind of toy imaginable is there, and many vendors have live demos of some of their newer products. It's a virtual candy store for kinksters. Any gents interested in taking me shopping this weekend, please inquire!
Needless to say, I was conservative with my spending this year as I have a much needed and long awaited vacation planned in just a few weeks. I'll be visiting the country of Iceland for a week and am looking forward to taking in the visually stunning geography there, as well as visiting a few of their famous "hot springs", like a nature-made hot tub. One of my travel partners wants to climb a glacier, though I'm not quite sure I'm up for that. However, I'm game for some of their legendary nightlife, which involves some hard partying until 5 AM on weekends. Pictures to come soon...
|
