As long as your outfit meets the fetish dresscode at festive fetish events such as Torture Garden’s XXXmas party on December 2, you can add some traditional seasonal pouches — sorry, touches — too (photo: noone-studio.com)

FESTIVE FETISH EVENTS 2023: THE NIGHTLIFE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Halloween celebrations may be barely over, but it’s not too early to start making plans to attend festive fetish events in the final weeks before Christmas!

So we’ve taken a look at the schedules of well-known event organisers across the UK, Europe and USA, to see what festive fetish partying opportunities they’re offering between November 25 and Christmas Eve this year.

What follows is info that event hosts had released by this article’s publication date (November 3). But please bear in mind that, because some promoters are in the habit of not announcing dates more than a month ahead, there may well be a few more December dates added later in November.

By the way, the dresscodes for the events below mostly do not make reference to any specifically Christmas-inspired attire. Generally speaking, if you’re that way inclined and don’t own a latex Santa outfit, we suggest prioritising each promoter’s published fetish dresscode and, if you must, just accessorising with the odd seasonal touch.

UNITED KINGDOM EVENTS

Alex and Ravenkin try out the new professional catering-size air fryer at Pedestal, which celebrates its 20th Birthday at Fire London on November 30 (photo: Derek/ClubPedestal.com)

November 30: Club Pedestal

Club Pedestal, the UK’s most popular female dominance night, hosts its 20^th Birthday Party at Fire London in Vauxhall on November 30. The party will feature a midnight Femdom Cabaret (details tba) plus all Pedestal’s regular attractions such as its large team of house slaves; massive play space with more than 15 items of equipment; Goddess Room; and Best Dressed Submissive competition.

December 2 & 9: Torture Garden

As reliably as ever, Torture Garden is again hosting two festive fetish events in December this year — one at each of its two regular London venues. TG XXXmas takes place on December 2 at Electrowerkz, Islington, while TG Winter Wonderland will be staged on December 9 at Scala, Kings Cross.

With Lolo Brow MC-ing both nights, Andromeda Circus will be performing at both nights, debuting their brand new Clay installation at Electrowerkz and featuring their Bird of Paradise aerial performance at Scala. Other performers will include, on Dec 2, Dairy King, “the man of your creams who brings his milk(shake) to the yard”; and on Dec 9, Berlin's infamous dark sideshow artist Enjo Flint, making his TG London debut.

Both events will have three different arrival slots (with penalties for arriving outside your booked slot) and both venues require physical (ie not digital) photo ID to gain entry.

December 22: Club AntiChrist

AntiChrist returns to Fire London, Vauxhall, with the closest party date to actual Christmas Day that any of our featured events have managed this year. Tagged Feast of Poseidon: A Solstice Celebration, the event is intended to evoke images of fire, swords, erotic cakes and pagan costumes among other things of a Saturnalian nature.

Fire’s various spaces will be allocated along the same lines as September’s AntiChrist, with four dancefloors, chillout garden, dungeon, dark playroom and Theatre of Sin with music and shows (details tba).

UK Fetish Markets: November 26, December 3 & 17

Market forces: exhibitor Kraken Counter Couture at Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar, which holds its Kinkmas edition on December 17

In addition to the parties mentioned above, three UK fetish markets will be staging pre-Christmas editions that provide opportunities to acquire last-minute outfits and accessories for this year’s festive fetish events and/or seasonal gifts of a generally kinky character. All three take place on Sunday afternoons and two of them are followed by evening after-parties at the same venues.

November 26 sees Le Boutique Bazaar’s legendary XXXmas event taking place in its usual Sunday afternoon slot at For Your Eyes Only, near London’s Old Street Station. This event is currently notable for its unmatched selection of designer harnesswear, but its exhibitors also offer couture latex, custom corsetry, elaborate headdresses, tempting lingerie, luxury leather goods, exotic jewellery, sexy toys, erotic art and more.

December 3 will be the last event in 2023 for LAM (London Alternative Market) at Revolution London in Leadenhall, City of London. Details of December exhibitors were not available at publication time, but the event is likely to offer the usual wide range of BDSM toy/accessory exhibitors along with a handful of clothing designers. As usual the market is followed by the LAM After Party at 7pm.

December 17 sees Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar hosting its Kinkmas market at the Nightingale Club in Digbeth. As well as 50-plus exhibitors, this edition of BBB includes a latex munch and features two stage shows: Whipboxing with DK & The UK Kruel Leather Family, and a Best Dressed competition. Both shows will also feature burlesque performances by Ripper Moff. The BBB After Party follows at 6pm.

EUROPEAN EVENTS

That’s our girl! Libidex’s very own Marnie Scarlet performing at Wasteland, which hosts its big seasonal gathering Le Grand Noir at Northsea Venue outside Amsterdam on November 25 (photo: Heinrich v Schimmer)

November 25: Amsterdam, Paris

Amsterdam: Wasteland holds Le Grand Noir, its big seasonal event, at Northsea Venue, Hemkade, outside Amsterdam, on Nov 25. This party is renowned for its great stage shows, although no details had been announced at publication time, other than that it is “20s/30s inspired”. We can, however, confirm that the usual all-night shuttle bus will run between the venue and Amsterdam Central.

Paris: Nuit Élastique No 233 takes place on Nov 25 at a new 9^th Arrondissement venue Club Provence. With its 12 spaces ranging from the large main room to small intimate cells, and from darkroom to backroom, it promises partygoers “real fetish/BDSM encounters, a simple and relaxed atmosphere, perfect security and hygiene”. There’s also a buffet!

December 2: Dublin

Dublin: Nimhneach, Ireland’s only fetish night (as far as we know), convenes on Dec 2 at The Sound House for its monthly gathering. No details of any festive elements were available at publication time; tickets go on sale two weeks in advance.

December 16: Nuremberg, Stockholm, Zurich

Swiss role: Promotional image for Utopia Fetish Deluxe’s Temple of Medusa party at Zurich’s Club Medusa on December 16

Nuremberg: Die Macht der Nacht (The Power of the Night) on Dec 16 is primarily a fetish dance party “in a sinfully lustful atmosphere”. Hosted by the city’s Der Cult nightclub, it offers space for fetishists of all kinds, crossdressers, gays, trans people, leather, patent and latex lovers and “sexy happy people of all stripes and preferences”.

Stockholm: A legend among festive fetish events, Dekadance’s Fuck X-Mas party on Dec 16 is, sadly, already sold out. But we’re mentioning it in case you thought we’d overlooked it. Could they perhaps find a bigger venue for the next one?

Zurich: Utopia Fetish Deluxe’s Temple of Medusa party takes place on Dec 16 at Club Medusa, which offers two dance floors, various themed rooms, plus Darkroom, Playzone, Crosses and Cages. And don’t forget, say the organisers: if you go to this party, “you are the show”!

December ??: Amsterdam

Amsterdam: Boudoir Bizarre, which styles itself as “a real old school fetish party” and aims to host three events per year, has traditionally scheduled December events in the past. From its website, it looks as if it might be hoping to announce a December date for this year very soon. So here’s a link to the Boudoir Bizarre website in case our guess is correct!

Possible pervery? Promotional image for Amsterdam’s “old school” Boudoir Bizarre fetish party, which “might” be hosting its next event this December

UNITED STATES EVENTS

December 9: Florida, New York

Florida: Fetish Factory always holds festive fetish events, and the date of this year’s is Dec 9. Only the name has been changed to protect the kinky, it seems. This year, the party previously known as Season’s Beatings (and, at time of writing, still called that in its Facebook event listing) seems to have been changed on FF’s website to the less provocative Santress Season Fetish Party (probably a safer name for a Florida event these days). Venue info was still awaited at publication time.

New York: Fetish Tribe’s 15^th Anniversary party, Impact at Temptations on Dec 9, is the second of only two fetish parties we could find listed for this year’s pre-Christmas party season in all of North America. Surely there must be more! Co-host Xris Smack! Will be DJing at this one of course, and if you’re into really complicated tiered ticketing systems, this is definitely one for you. The Temptations venue, previously known as Pendulum Studios, is located in Manhattan’s financial district.

Tempting: Fetish Tribe will celebrate its 15th anniversary with an Impact party at NYC’s Temptations venue on December 9. Co-host and DJ Xris SMack! (centre) is shown here with Val Vampyre (left) and Lexus Wicked