FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

STATEMENTS

  • To build a better world we acknowledge the elders, wisdom, spirits and people that have come before us.

    Playground acknowledges that we exist and play on stolen land. We do not shy away from this truth, nor do we linger in shame. Instead, we hold it with solemnity and let it guide our commitment to building stronger communities and caring for one another. 

    Toronto—our home base—is the shared traditional territory of many people, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. This land is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

    Today the people of these nations endure on this land and share this space with us. We are gracious to this and acknowledge the deep wounds this process has caused.  

    It is both our hope and our responsibility to honour this truth and to move forward in the spirit of truth and reconciliation, as called for by First Nations peoples.

    Playground abhors nationalism in all its forms.  It abhors classist hierarchy.  We believe deeply in an inclusive green and good world and we are committed to upholding these principles as a homage to the  First Nations people that have shown us the way.

  • To be very blunt, we are an all inclusive queer friendly party.


    Racists, bigots, homophobes, transphobes, misogynists, misandrists, white supremacists, zionists, fascists and persons who DO NOT have a healthy concept of empathy, compassion, historical perspective and reasonable social justice can fuck right off.


    You are not welcome at our party.

    Freaks, pervs, kinksters, eccentrics, intellectuals, philosophers, activists, artists, witches, sluts, queers, weirdos, feminists, allies and intersectional humanists, of any and all genders, spiritual beliefs or walks of life…..step right in!


    Note that our party does not condone predatory or prejudiced bullshit and we reserve the right to remove anyone who manifests toxic behaviour.


    We are a place that recognizes the concept of progressive consent conscious BDSM, which roughly translates into a philosophical attunement of “risk aware” responsible kink play, thoroughly supported by our trained harm reduction team staff.


    We are a place that recognizes that sex is magical, kinksters are part of a community and that human intimacy with the scene is one of the keys to the sound mental and physical health of us weirdos at large. This is why we created this party!


    We are a place that does not shame people for sexual or kink tastes nor do we condone individuals pushing their personal ideology unto other dynamics unless stated and agreed upon. We have developed a comprehensive PLAYBOOK that lays it all out. This is required reading for anyone who wants to play!

ACCESS

  • At present our home base venue of Ground Control Toronto is mobility accessible. On some rare occasions we may do parties at other venues and unfortunately they are not always accessible. It’s best to check before hand if a party is not listed at Ground Control.

    We do our best to try to accomodate everyone. If you have any specific needs please contact us ahead of a party so we can address things and make your experience excellent!

  • Depends who you are!  We always do a limited run of affordable early bird tickets approximately two months in advance so keeping an eye on our socials is a wise idea.  The early birds are over half the day zero price.  

    In addition if you are a human immersed or adjacent to any Land Back movement, a refugee, a marginalized human, you can take advantage of our special “by request” pricing.  

    We also run discount codes for ☂️ workers and industry folks. 

    But at the end of the day, if you are going through some tough times and just want to blow off some steam with us, all you have to do is ask and we’ll share an event’s discount codes at our discretion.

DRESS CODE

  • No!   Omigod, we get this question a lot and the answer will always be a no.  

    We don’t care if your partner is dressed to the nines.  You are not an accessory to them.  You NEED to follow our dress code as it is clearly outlined in our RULES.  There are no exceptions and while we have been criticized by many for being elitist assholes with our stricter than norm dress code, we don’t give a shit. 

    Honestly we’ve tried to make our entry level as simple as possible and are always willing to help.  A little basic research is all you need.

  • No.  No one is ever “banned” for dress code.  In fact you could come back in five minutes changed and ready to rock, and we would roll out the red carpet for you. 

    Please also note that the ONLY people allowed to make a call on dress code are our PGK check-in staff. Venue security are NOT ALLOWED to make calls on dress code and if they give you a hard time, flag a check-in staff to escalate.

  • Fetish and kink is a spectrum and so is the gear.  We have a very in depth write-up about our dress code in our RULES including examples.   The internet is also your friend.  Start with looking at our past galleries (On Fetlife).

    We’re here to help as well so if you have questions please reach out and we can put you in touch with a number of local designers and artisans for some kick ass gear!

  • Short answer - sort of.  

    Long answer - You are mistaken if you think you can just walk around in your birthday suit and call it an outfit.  We are not a nudist party, we are a fetish forward fashion and kink party and that requires some creativity.  

    Having said that if your fabulous outfit exposes your private bits, we’re fine with that.  But please be creative and don’t just walk around in a t-shirt with your junk out. 

SCENES / Play

  • Short answer - No.  

    Long answer - define sex right?  We are an extremely sexually charged party and encourage play.   Our RULES outline the red lines around this and the grey areas around this.   But in short, gratuitous penetrative fluid expressing intercourse is not allowed at our party.

  • Maybe.  It all depends on our venue and the space to play with these things safely.   The first step is to contact us and clear any unconventional kink play so we can make sure you have the resources and real estate to get your kink on. 

  • One of the challenges of rope is it takes up precious space in our already packed events.  This one is very much room and venue specific.  In our larger spaces we might be able to facilitate this but it’s best to pre-arrange your scene with us so we can make sure it’s all going to fit.

  • Absolutely yes! We encourage it!

    We also have our own “Toy Library” with our famous sexy librarians to help in case you forgot your toy bag at home.

    Please note venue security may reserve the right to search bags before entry and will confiscate any knives or other weaponry so leave the blades at home.

    For things like needles, wax and fire play, please clear it with us beforehand or run the risk of losing these items at the door.

VIBE PATROL

  • If you are brand new with attending a “fetish party” we understand, it’s all a little intimidating!  

    Here’s the thing!  These kinds of parties might seem sexually aggressive and extreme to the onlooker, but the reality is you will find our party to be a very welcoming, loving, respectful and accepting group of people.  

    For one, we state our values up front and have a particular lens on consent and protocols around this sort of thing.

    If we find individuals who do not subscribe to our rules or values, we throw them out, pure and simple.

    Because “kink” encompasses a broad spectrum, fetish parties tend to be a vast intersection of age, race, gender, expression and taste. 

    We like to encourage our patrons to reflect our values of inclusiveness and help create a fun, positive, judgement free zone.

  • Short answer = pink glowing armbands = Vibe Patrol.  

    The humans wearing pink armbands are our “Vibe Patrol” and are fully trained harm reduction specialists.  As our front line for your good time these folks are here to “help” not here to “police”.   ACAB means us too.

    However, as the eyes and ears of our party these folks have the resources to lend aid, or ensure you are safe and sound at a moment's notice.  

    In the ultra rare case that you can’t find a pink armband, ANY staff member from the bar tender to the DJ are versed in aiding our patrons in crisis. 

    Please be comfortable in talking to any of us for any reason if you feel uncomfortable at any point.   And don’t be afraid to speak up as it’s happening, not after it happens. 

  • First off - thanks for letting us know and helping keep the community safe!

    It’s very likely we are already aware of this person and watching.

    One of our Vibe Patrol mandates is to work with community concerns on a case by case basis.  Anyone we feel is a direct danger to patrons of the party are GONE, out, removed, not welcome, nuff said. 

    Having said that, we are running a public rave and are not the “scene police”.  Therefore, we approach each case with care and consideration before a final decision. In some cases we seek a probationary path to restorative justice rather than just straight up cancelling.

    We work with those most directly impacted by a potentially harmful person’s presence in this process. 

    We are not interested in getting involved with people’s messy business but if it crosses over into harming the people at our party we WILL and DO take action. 

GET INVOLVED

  • Think you have the chops?  We are always looking for up and coming local talent to match our vibe and we’re very much open to a variety of music styles and genres.  

    Like kink, music is a spectrum and it’s one of the main pillars of our event.  

    If you would like to apply to DJ at one of our events you must contact ACID BURN. Also be prepared to provide samples of your music, a bio, some high resolution promotional images and be prepared to sign a contract.

    There is no other way around this.  Acid Burn is head of audio talent and the gateway into getting on the decks at our party. 

  • Yes please!   We keep a roster of folks to help us at our parties.  Areas we usually need are set-up and tear-down labour, harm reduction staff, door check-in, and our toy librarians. We provide training, and reasonable compensation.  

    We will need you for potentially the full duration of our events so be prepared for the red eye.  Reach out with the contact us link if you want to help with our community.