Musings on TKLfest 2024

Well another TKLfest has come and gone and I'm back home after a 5 hour flight from Las Vegas. This was my third and definitely not my last. I'm hooked. I'm actually hooked more because of the incredibly strong sense of community than the tickling play that goes on there.

The recurring sentiment I heard from people who were brand new to Fest was how surprised they were that it was as much of a social gathering as a kink one. What several of them had pictured was a non-stop tickle orgy (and don't get me wrong, there is some of that to be found) but what they discovered was a group of guys who come year after year because they genuinely enjoy each other's company.   

I have never been one to have a lot of gay male friendships. I always felt like a bit of an oddball: more interested in comic books than dance clubs, not much of partier and more of a wallflower. I did my share of exploring the gay scene in my 20s but I never felt like I had found my tribe. It wasn't until I attended Fest 2 years ago at the age of 52 that I truly did. I'm part of a brotherhood now.

Granted I came into this group with a certain amount of notoriety because of the art I've been producing for decades. In fact that is exactly what had kept me away from Fest for so long, despite the efforts of some of my friends in the community to get me to go. The idea of all that attention on me made me very nervous but it turns out that I had nothing to worry about. Everyone has been incredibly sweet and welcoming to me.

If you're a kinkster and you suffer from some level of social anxiety, you are not alone. It's safe to say that many of the attendees at TKLfest do to some degree. I can assure you that at Fest you will find people who are just like you in a judgement-free zone. You'll find an incredibly diverse group of all ages, races and social backgrounds who have all come together because we love this fun, playful and bonding activity. The Fest director and board have gone to great lengths in the past couple of years to put together mixing events to help some of the shy among us to meet new people and form new friendships in environments that don't involve play.

So, if you've been on the fence about attending, this is my absolutely glowing 5 star recommendation of the event. To give you some numbers, last year's Orlando Fest was the biggest ever at 149 attendees and this year's in Las Vegas exactly matched that number! Of the 149 this year, nearly 40% was made up of brand new people attending for the first time.

So get over your shyness and put yourself out there. Life is too short to not be tickling.