Portland, Oregon, will host its inaugural PDX Kink Week beginning April 4th, a city-wide event celebrating kink and alternative lifestyles. The week aims to mirror popular food-focused events like Portland Burger Week, but with a focus on the city’s thriving kink community and local businesses.
Organized by Natasha Strange of Sub Rosa PDX, in partnership with Viola Parker and a collective of event producers, PDX Kink Week intends to support Portland’s “alt businesses, kink-friendly venues, and event producers,” according to event materials. Portland has a noted concentration of businesses catering to alternative interests, including sex clubs, strip clubs, and sex-positive educators.
The event is envisioned as a connection point for individuals within the kink community, offering a range of activities from club events to smaller, community-hosted gatherings and pop-up shops. A pop-up shop, hosted in a boudoir studio in Northwest Portland, is scheduled for Saturday, April 4th, from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM PT, and will feature leather vendors, handmade goods, and corset fittings. Admission to the pop-up shop is $3 per person, with limited capacity of 50 attendees.
PDX Kink Week is actively seeking volunteers and sponsors. Organizers are requesting “enticing gifts or goodies” for event giveaways, and are open to supporting any kink-friendly or alternative businesses in the Portland area. Steam Portland, a venue located on NE Sandy Blvd, is hosting several kink-related events in March, including a “Radical Rubdown” on March 17th, shibari classes on March 18th, and a “Hardwear – Gear Night” on March 20th. Steam Portland is also currently hiring part-time staff.
Details about how to get involved with PDX Kink Week, including volunteer opportunities and sponsorship information, are available on the event website, pdxkinkweek.com. The Instagram account for PDX Kink Week, @pdxkinkweek, describes the event as a “week long, city wide, celebration of kinky PDX showcasing local small businesses.”
