Billed as ‘a showcase of what the Birmingham and Midlands scene has to offer — the people, places and projects’, Birmingham Fetish Weekend returns on November 15-17 this year for a three-day programme split into five separate events.
Although labelled a fetish weekend, and encouraging (though not insisting upon) a fetish dresscode for its evening parties, BFW also has more than a little in common with the BDSM/play/educational style of American conventions like Dark Odyssey. BFW also comes just a few weeks after the UK’s only other convention-style weekend, KinkFest. This means the Midlands can claim this country’s only two bites of the BDSM convention cherry, and in pretty quick succession too! But since Brum and the Black Country are where heavy metal was born, perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised by this!
Organised by the people behind Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar and their friends, BFW 2024 starts with Friday November 15’s Launch Night and Play Party on the ground floor of The Nightingale, BBB’s legendary LGBTQIA+ venue. The night will be co-hosted by Faye Sanders and Beastie-fs (above) and the BBB crew, along with fellow hosts and sponsors Latex Devotion (below), Mid Week Munch hosts Mae-Daze and Texas Pete, Miss Poison Candi, Tara Red, Diana Von Rigg, DK Leather and Rogue Events.
Top image: Birmingham Fetish Weekend 2024 is hosted by Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar’s Faye Sanders and Beastie-fs (shown) and friends
The Latex Devotion team will co-host/sponsor Friday night’s BFW launch party and other events of the weekend
Friday night, running from 7pm to 1am, will feature a ‘huge’ ground floor dungeon space furnished by sponsor Alternative Lifestyle Furniture (ALF). It will be overlooked by the ground floor stage which, this evening, will feature four spotlight scenes staged by Phoenix Flight and Perfectly Peaches; DK Leather and Leather Hiraeth; Will Hunt, Red Riding Brat and Cherry Blossomx; and Ran and Alouetta La Zouch.
Friday will also see the launch of the 2024 BFW raffle, which is devoted to raising funds to support the transition of a much-loved BBB/BFW/LBL crew member. Tickets (£2 each or three for £5) will be on sale throughout BFW right up to 3pm at Sunday’s Bizarre Bazaar. To be won are around 20 prizes donated by BBB traders and BFW hosts, sponsors and performers.
Saturday 16 is divided into two distinct parts. Part 1, from 11am to 5pm, is the BFW’s Community Day, featuring its Monster Munch, more than a dozen workshops and a series of talks known collectively as the Human Library. There will be workshops from Texas Pete and Tara Red; Will Hunt and Red Riding Brat (below left); Sploshmuffin (below right); MisterB; Echo Wood; DK Leather; Lady Selena; Phoenix Flight; KnotsForSofties; Violet Incredible; Sinister Denial and Imaginitrix; BelleDeSM; Miss Tara Red; Texas Pete and GlitterGusher.
Among Birmingham Fetish Weekend’s Saturday workshop presenters will be Will Hunt and Red Riding Brat (left), and Sploshmuffin (right)
Workshop topics, presented in four spaces, include Feminism and Kink; Sadistic Rope; CBT, Consent and Negotiation; the Big World of Littles; Caning; Wax 101; Breathplay; Hypnotic Pleasure; How to Build Your Own Sexbot; Sploshing 101; Guide to Impact Play; Hypno 101; and Sensory Deprivation.
After a two-hour break, Saturday’s festivities continue with Part 2: the BBB Awards Night, which takes over the Nightingale’s top floor for ‘a dress to impress evening of DJs, awards, performances and prizes’. BBB Awards will go to, among others, those voted favourite Mistress/Pro, Performer, Workshop Host, Top Three Traders and Crew Member. Performers at the Awards Night will include Bambi Bang Bang (below left) and Mika Kitten (below right).
Sunday 17 is, as you might guess, structured around the two traditional elements of Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar’s monthly events: its daytime fetish market and its evening after-party. The optional dress theme for this BFW Sunday is ‘Leather and Latex’.
Bambi Bang Bang (left) and Mika Kitten (right) are among performers at Birmingham Fetish Weekend’s BBB Awards Night on Saturday
Spread over three floors of The Nightingale with stalls trading from 11am to 5pm in kinky, alternative and holistic goods/services, the Bazaar features bars, gardens and cafes all under one roof. It also includes — the organisers remind us — ‘stage shows with performances and demos, photographers/selfie spots, monthly themes, prizes to win, local information to gather, people to meet and experiences to have!’
The Bazaar includes two stage presentations. At 1pm there’ll be a recap of the weekend and a look ahead, followed by DK Leather (below left) and UK KRuel’s annual Whip Boxing Championship and, closing the first show, Libidex’s very own Marnie Scarlet (below right). At 3.30pm, the second presentation will see announcements of Best Dressed prizes for the day itself and for earlier entries via social media.
Other elements of the Sunday afternoon programme include: Noon: Full tour of the venue, useful for event newbies; Noon: Littles Munch, meeting on the top floor for social and colouring; 2pm: Latex Munch hosted by Latex Devotion; 2–3:30pm: Meet a Pro, featuring Miss Ruby Marks on the ground floor side stage.
Stage shows during Sunday’s BBB market will come from DK Leather (left) and the UK KRuel Family, plus Marnie Scarlet (right)
The market closes at 5pm, but those with AfterParty wristbands can get ten percent discount off food and drink in a private area at the nearby Loft Lounge, while the lower floors are readied for reopening at 6pm for the AfterParty. This final part of Birmingham Fetish Weekend, running until 10:30pm, is designed to be an inclusive environment for safe self-expression, where you can, for example, bring along your new purchases from the afternoon and try them out in a non-judgemental environment.
Attractions/distractions during the evening, include, on the lower floor: Exhibitionist Dungeon with furniture by ALF (bottom photo); Master Bates and team with their Electrickery Corner; Matriarchy (mistress-led impact station) with @mistresskirsty1 and guest hosts Miss Ruby Marks (below left); portraiture by house ’tog Kink Focus; and Mrs Waggles Cakes’ aftercare snacking.
The middle floor will offer Rope Classes and Rope Jam from Christian Red (below right, with Scarlet Rose); Littles Corner with activities hosted by litjennifer and echowood; Pet Play Zone complete with pet beds, cages, toys and games; and Whip Boxing Championship hosted by DK Leather and the UK KRuel Leather family.
Sunday AfterParty attractions include Miss Ruby Marks (left), guest hosting Matriarchy on The Nightingale’s lower floor, and Christian Red (right, shown here with Scarlet Rose) hosting rope classes on the middle floor
Last but not least, the top floor will accommodate a Players-Only Dungeon (with same rules as the ground floor but a more intimate space with quieter music and a ‘no voyeurs’ policy); plus the Wax Lounge, complete with UV wax zone, run by Violet Incredible and the Skully Candles team.
Birmingham Fetish Weekend advance tickets, from Eventbrite here, are as follows (prices inc fees):
BFW Weekend Pass Fri–Sun Nov 15–17 (5 events): £71.13
BFW Friday Nov 15 Launch Night/Play Party 7pm–1am: £22.38
BFW Saturday Nov 16 Community Day 11am–5pm: £6.13
BFW Saturday Nov 16 BBB Awards Night 7pm–1am: £6.
Separate admission to Sunday Nov 17’s events, by payment on entry only:
BFW Sunday Nov 17 Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar 11am-5pm: £7 (cash only)
BFW Sunday Nov 17 BBB AfterParty 6pm-10.30pm: £13 (cash only)
Luxury Spanking Bench by Alternative Lifestyle Furniture, aka ALF — a BFW sponsor and provider of the event’s dungeon furniture
Venue location for the Birmingham Fetish Weekend: The Nightingale Club, Kent Street, Birmingham B5 6RD.
Hotel accommodation for up to three nights has been arranged by the event hosts with Ibis Birmingham Centre, New Street. Daily rates shown (inc VAT) are for bed and breakfast, with one/two person occupancy:
Friday Nov 15: £108/£116
Saturday Nov 16: £126/£134
Sunday Nov 17: £55/£63
See the About page of the BFW website for full details on how to book Ibis rooms. BirminghamFetishWeekend.com
BFW Advance Tickets/Eventbrite