Loving More 25th Annual Polyamory Retreat

Jun 282011
 

On September 9-11, like-minded poly people from around the country will gather at the Easton Mountain Retreat Center in New York for Loving More’s 25th Annual Polyamory Retreat. Attendants are encouraged to swim, hike, hot tub, connect with nature, and connect with each other.

From opening circle to closing circle all workshops are done as a group to facilitate connection, community and learning. Loving More creates a safe welcoming environment in which to explore, communicate, play and find out what works for you and your partners. You choose your level of participation and take home lessons and connections that last a lifetime.

The basic retreat fee includes all meals, workshops, and use of Easton Mountain facilities. 175 acres provides ample space for camping, and there are a limited number of bunkhouse rooms/beds available for an extra price.

The early registration deadline is this Friday, July 1. Register here.

Participants needed for study of polyamory in communities of color in the SF East Bay

Jun 172011
 

Airial Clark, a blogger at Good Vibrations Magazine and graduate student at San Francisco State University, is looking for participants for ethnographic research on polyamory in communities of color in the San Francisco East Bay.

I would like to interview people of color, between the ages of 30 and 45 years old, who are open to their friends and family about having multiple consensual intimate relationships. Participants must live in the East SF Bay Area.

Participation in this research includes being individually interviewed on three separate occasions about your intimate relationships, sexual and racial identity, social events in the East Bay that you attend, and how being polyamorous has impacted your family life.

Each interview will take approximately 1.5 hours. The study will take place in Oakland from June 2011 through August 2011 with 3 separate interviews being held in 3 week intervals. I am happy to schedule at your convenience, evenings, weekends or weekdays are available.

If you would like to participate in the research, email airialclark [at] gmail [dot] com.

Margaret Cho on her open marriage

Jun 152011
 

Comedian/actress Margaret Cho was a guest on CBS afternoon show “The Talk” this week. At one point, she was asked about her open marriage.

Cho says,

I think honesty is really important. And I plan to be married forever. I love my husband, and I feel that we have to be honest, and I think that, to me, monogamy is not an honest choice for myself. It is for some people, but not for me.

Play about an open relationship premieres this week in Ottawa

Jun 132011
 

The Ottawa Fringe Festival starts this Thursday and runs through June 26th. One of the plays, entitled Complex Numbers, deals with open relationships. Complex Numbers is written by Nadine Thornhill and directed by Ken Godmere of Silent QUEMB Productions.

The play is described as “an unconventional romantic comedy about making love work.” Thornhill was inspired by Opening Up and strove to depict ”an honest yet positive story about an ordinary couple that have chosen to open up their marriage.” The synopsis reads:

As a mathematician, Fiona knows how to find answers for complicated problems… except when it comes to her relationships. As she tries to solve the equation of first dates + kinky sex + commitment, she learns that the best solutions aren’t always the obvious ones.

Go check out Complex Numbers at the Ottawa Fringe Festival!

Polyamorists in Utah grace cover of City Weekly

Jun 102011
 

Salt Lake City’s City Weekly currently features an extensive, very in-depth cover story about non-monogamy in Utah. This exceptional story — written by a man who is poly himself — profiles a litany of poly relationships from triads to quads, and even a 74-year-old real estate investor and former Mormon bishop who is now poly after a 48-year monogamous marriage.

One woman, a former Mormon, has this to say about being poly.

Coming into who I really am while breaking out of what my parents and my bishop thought I should be and doing what moves me has been awesome. I love loving how I love. I love being how I am. I think I’m one of the luckiest women in the world, and I’m surrounded by intelligent, spiritual, loving people.

Utah is not the most friendly place for polyamorists; it has a law against co-habitation (as part of its anti-bigamy statute), and an “at-will” employment law which allows employers to terminate the job of someone who is outed as poly. But the article plugs the Utah Polyamory Society, which holds meetings and other events meant to bring together polyamorous Utahns.

The article closes with a lovely summation of polyamory.

. . . for those willing to explore beyond what’s conventional (and probably incur some of society’s disapproval in the process), polyamory is a fast-paced course in self-discovery, a laboratory for overcoming self-defensive reactions like jealousy, and a yoga studio for deep soul stretching.

Tristan on the Michael Baisden Radio Show!

Jun 032011
 

On Thursday, June 9, Tristan will be appearing on the Michael Baisden Show talking about her book, Opening Up, and the ins and outs of open relationships! The show topic is “Forsaking All Others: Is monogamy for everybody? Or should an open relationship be an option?“, and hosts Michael Baisden and George Willborn are going to be exploring a variety of perspectives on non-monogamy. You can listen to the show on over 70 stations across the US (the full listing is here) or listen in, live or recorded, at the show website.