I had an opportunity to take part to Tampere Fetish Factory 2019 (TAFF2019) on saturday 21.9.2019. Tampere Fetish Factory is a traditional fetish event held in Tampere, Finland. It has been one of the most popular kinky people events in Finland. The event is organized by Rsyke ry, Tampere's kinky association.
I took part to event with my partner, Tigrita.
(*NOTE: There are also other TAFF-named events around, like Turku Animated Film Festival. This article is only about Tampere Fetish Factory which has the same abbreviation!)
Getting there
Our choice was to travel to Tampere with a car. Car isn't always the best option because parking spaces at Tampere are quite limited near centre of the city. Some local might know some good locations to park a car but we didn't ask for tips. We decided to park the car to Laukontori parking space overnight. There is a parking fee to be paid in certain hours. We only had to pay for 1,5 hours because parking was free after 18:00 o'clock. Still the fee surprised us as we had to pay over 6€ for that short time! I think there are cheaper parking spaces only few blocks away from the centre so this is something to keep on mind! At Laukontori is parking fee also during sundays starting from 12:00. We managed to get there before that so we were spared from extra charges.
After all that 6€ was a little pay comparing to hotel parking hall which is approximately 20€ per night.
If it's possible for one to travel without own car I recommend public transport to Tampere. Buses are a good option but if one can afford a train it is the most comfortable way to travel. The Tampere Railway Station is located in the heart of the city and distances to different hotels and locations are short.
Accommodation
We stayed at "Original Sokos Hotel Ilves", Tampere. Hotel Ilves was familiar for me from earlier visits so I knew in advance that the hotel would be nice and suitable. The location of Hotel Ilves is really good. Distances to different parts of the city are short and the train station is located very near hotel.
The room we got was cozy normal level room for two. Really positive was that the bed sheets were really soft and comfortable. We slept quite well that night. The negative side was that despite the thermostat controller the room temperature was hard to adjust if impossible. Air conditioner leveled the temperature in the room automatically. Temperature was quite good all the time but it would be nice if adjusting could work easily. Or could work at all.
But that was only a minor problem. After all the room was really nice. Services at the hotel are good. This time we only used the breakfast service included in price. The breakfast was good. Selection was wide and there were all the basic choices available. Earlier my experiences at breakfast in Hotel Ilves have been great but this time there were really much people eating at same time. Some foods had to be waited to be replenished. Some warm foods were a bit cold. Fortunately the staff worked all the time giving their best and no-one left hungry from the breakfast. I guess that this is just the normal hustle during the weekends.
Of course there are other hotel options at Tampere too. My previous experiences about two other hotel options in a nutshell:
- Omena Hotel, Tampere: Affordable accommodation if traveler doesn't demand services. OmenaHotels provide rooms which are pretty comparable to normal hotel rooms. Quality of the room might not be as high as in bigger hotels but I can say that OmenaHotels have surprised me positively with their level of accommodations. If you look for a good hotel room with lower level price and no services needed this might be your choice.
- Holiday Inn Tampere - Central Station: I've been at Holiday Inn Tampere few times. From what I remember Holiday Inn has been a nice choice too for a hotel accommodation. This hotel is also a good choice if you wish to choose it.
After all my choices depend a lot about tendering so if the hotel is cheaper than others it tempts me more.
Event location
The event was held at Tampere's Olympia-kortteli (Olympia-block) which is formed from restaurant Muusa and Olympia hall. Olympia hall was the place of the event. It is connected to restaurant with one door but otherwise the hall is a separate space. The hall is a big space which is a former cinema but nowadays it's a place for different kinds of cultural events. It works really great with occasions which it helds.
Olympia-kortteli is located in the heart of the city in the address "Satakunnankatu 10".
The Tampere Fetish Factory 2019 party
TAFF2019 party began at 20:00 o'clock. The program was following:
20:00 Doors opened
21:00 Welcoming and etiquette info
22:00 Latex Show by Tiina Rikala
23:00 The kinky act of the year nomination (*not meaning sex act but something important done by someone for kinky society)
00:00 Kill Noires -short movie
01:30 Last call
DJ's were playing all the time when program wasn't performed.
This time I wasn't among the guests - I was on the staff. I had an opportunity to be a performer in the show! Both me and Tigrita were asked along by a tailor Tiina Rikala who is a latex clothing designer. She had a show at TAFF 2019 where she needed some people to perform and model some of her clothes. I was really honored that I was asked along! How could I have denied?
So I started the party by arriving in advance and preparing for the show. We had a drill before the doors opening where we went through the ideas and tried how everything works. We started our part of the occasion by performing. The Latex Show was related to movie world along the party theme. The audience saw six different parts in the show referring a bit to some well-known movies. The show had some action and humor but the main idea was that all the performers had dressed in Tiina Rikala's latex creations. The show went great and after that we could join the others.
The kinky act of the year -nomination and prize is a tradition in finnish kinky scene. Nominated people or actors are chosen by kinky community and invited to TAFF party for the main nomination show. They are presented to people and there is some information told about what do they do for the kinky society. I appreciate all the nominee's for their work they have done for others.
I understood that this year TAFF 2019 had limited the amount of participants. The hall wasn't so full as in the past years. It's always a bit sad if there's no room for all the interested people. But after all I found this arragement really good as the hall had conveniently room for moving around. It's way too often when you hit an event where the whole place is full of people and you can't see or hear anything or even move around. This time people had a ball, they could easily meet others and have conversations, they could get drinks quite soon and they all had an option to see shows on the stage. And of course there was enough room for sessions too which is important to many people even though I'm not into playing at parties myself.
Tampere Fetish Factory has been one of the most popular fetish events in Finland. Sometimes maybe the most popular. Big fetish parties are really rare in Finland as there are only some to mention during a year. Of course there are also smaller club evenings in different cities but they are also quite numbered.
Tampere Fetish Factory has been the most popular place for fetishists in Finland. I'm not sure why it is so but TAFF always gathers a lot of latex loving people to party and have fun. I enjoy this because I love to see that there are many like-minded people in Finland too even though kinky subjects and fetishism are really rare subjects in everyday life if not a taboo. Once again I felt like at home in TAFF because there were really kind people around who admired others and accepted them the way they are. This is an ultimately important and necessary feeling for me and it's almost the only thing that I need from the occasions. Year after year TAFF has managed to do things right concerning this feeling.
I met many friends I had seen earlier some time or even long time ago. Every chat we had I enjoyed. For some people I mentioned that it would be nice to see in "real life" too. Some people prefer seeing just at the events so I understand if we see each others just there. But some people are willing to get known more and I must say I've made few really good friends from the fetish scene. I'm happy that fetish parties isn't all about playing because I'm looking just for friendships and enjoy the looks of beautiful clothing. TAFF is the best event in Finland for this.
The party ended in 01:30 which is quite early moment of night. I guess it was ok as there had already been much of program and by that time you had had plenty of time to go around.
Summary
TAFF2019 was exactly what I was hoping for. The event nature was warm and welcoming. There were much friendly people around and even newbies could feel comfortable being part of the society. The program and shows were cool and DJ's played good music to create a great atmosphere. I loved to be there that evening.
I warmly recommend Tampere Fetish Factory events to everyone who are interested either in BDSM and/or fetishism. If you aren't into either one of them you still can join and just enjoy the aesthetics and the look of the alternative fashion. For example I've seen many gothic people, cosplayers or ravers joining the crowd because of the nature of the party. And all the kinky parties are usually well supervised so just to mention to shy ones: You'll be safe in the party and no-one will push or harass you. (and if someone does, he/she will get eviction in no time!).
There could be even more question for TAFF parties. The number of participants was limited this year and people really enjoyed themselves once again. If the kinky society will grow and there will be more questioning it would be good to think through if it could be possible to grow TAFF to bigger occasion. But at the moment it might not be necessary as the finnish kinky and fetish scene is quite small and there are other parties and occasions around Finland too.
But I'd love to attend to more TAFF parties, if there would be them. That's a good reason to wait for the next TAFF!
I took part to event with my partner, Tigrita.
(*NOTE: There are also other TAFF-named events around, like Turku Animated Film Festival. This article is only about Tampere Fetish Factory which has the same abbreviation!)
Getting there
Our choice was to travel to Tampere with a car. Car isn't always the best option because parking spaces at Tampere are quite limited near centre of the city. Some local might know some good locations to park a car but we didn't ask for tips. We decided to park the car to Laukontori parking space overnight. There is a parking fee to be paid in certain hours. We only had to pay for 1,5 hours because parking was free after 18:00 o'clock. Still the fee surprised us as we had to pay over 6€ for that short time! I think there are cheaper parking spaces only few blocks away from the centre so this is something to keep on mind! At Laukontori is parking fee also during sundays starting from 12:00. We managed to get there before that so we were spared from extra charges.
After all that 6€ was a little pay comparing to hotel parking hall which is approximately 20€ per night.
If it's possible for one to travel without own car I recommend public transport to Tampere. Buses are a good option but if one can afford a train it is the most comfortable way to travel. The Tampere Railway Station is located in the heart of the city and distances to different hotels and locations are short.
Accommodation
We stayed at "Original Sokos Hotel Ilves", Tampere. Hotel Ilves was familiar for me from earlier visits so I knew in advance that the hotel would be nice and suitable. The location of Hotel Ilves is really good. Distances to different parts of the city are short and the train station is located very near hotel.
The room we got was cozy normal level room for two. Really positive was that the bed sheets were really soft and comfortable. We slept quite well that night. The negative side was that despite the thermostat controller the room temperature was hard to adjust if impossible. Air conditioner leveled the temperature in the room automatically. Temperature was quite good all the time but it would be nice if adjusting could work easily. Or could work at all.
 |
| Sights of Tampere. Old Picture as an insert as I didn't took photographs while visiting this time. |
But that was only a minor problem. After all the room was really nice. Services at the hotel are good. This time we only used the breakfast service included in price. The breakfast was good. Selection was wide and there were all the basic choices available. Earlier my experiences at breakfast in Hotel Ilves have been great but this time there were really much people eating at same time. Some foods had to be waited to be replenished. Some warm foods were a bit cold. Fortunately the staff worked all the time giving their best and no-one left hungry from the breakfast. I guess that this is just the normal hustle during the weekends.
Of course there are other hotel options at Tampere too. My previous experiences about two other hotel options in a nutshell:
- Omena Hotel, Tampere: Affordable accommodation if traveler doesn't demand services. OmenaHotels provide rooms which are pretty comparable to normal hotel rooms. Quality of the room might not be as high as in bigger hotels but I can say that OmenaHotels have surprised me positively with their level of accommodations. If you look for a good hotel room with lower level price and no services needed this might be your choice.
- Holiday Inn Tampere - Central Station: I've been at Holiday Inn Tampere few times. From what I remember Holiday Inn has been a nice choice too for a hotel accommodation. This hotel is also a good choice if you wish to choose it.
After all my choices depend a lot about tendering so if the hotel is cheaper than others it tempts me more.
Event location
The event was held at Tampere's Olympia-kortteli (Olympia-block) which is formed from restaurant Muusa and Olympia hall. Olympia hall was the place of the event. It is connected to restaurant with one door but otherwise the hall is a separate space. The hall is a big space which is a former cinema but nowadays it's a place for different kinds of cultural events. It works really great with occasions which it helds.
Olympia-kortteli is located in the heart of the city in the address "Satakunnankatu 10".
The Tampere Fetish Factory 2019 party
TAFF2019 party began at 20:00 o'clock. The program was following:
20:00 Doors opened
21:00 Welcoming and etiquette info
22:00 Latex Show by Tiina Rikala
23:00 The kinky act of the year nomination (*not meaning sex act but something important done by someone for kinky society)
00:00 Kill Noires -short movie
01:30 Last call
DJ's were playing all the time when program wasn't performed.
This time I wasn't among the guests - I was on the staff. I had an opportunity to be a performer in the show! Both me and Tigrita were asked along by a tailor Tiina Rikala who is a latex clothing designer. She had a show at TAFF 2019 where she needed some people to perform and model some of her clothes. I was really honored that I was asked along! How could I have denied?
So I started the party by arriving in advance and preparing for the show. We had a drill before the doors opening where we went through the ideas and tried how everything works. We started our part of the occasion by performing. The Latex Show was related to movie world along the party theme. The audience saw six different parts in the show referring a bit to some well-known movies. The show had some action and humor but the main idea was that all the performers had dressed in Tiina Rikala's latex creations. The show went great and after that we could join the others.
The kinky act of the year -nomination and prize is a tradition in finnish kinky scene. Nominated people or actors are chosen by kinky community and invited to TAFF party for the main nomination show. They are presented to people and there is some information told about what do they do for the kinky society. I appreciate all the nominee's for their work they have done for others.
I understood that this year TAFF 2019 had limited the amount of participants. The hall wasn't so full as in the past years. It's always a bit sad if there's no room for all the interested people. But after all I found this arragement really good as the hall had conveniently room for moving around. It's way too often when you hit an event where the whole place is full of people and you can't see or hear anything or even move around. This time people had a ball, they could easily meet others and have conversations, they could get drinks quite soon and they all had an option to see shows on the stage. And of course there was enough room for sessions too which is important to many people even though I'm not into playing at parties myself.
Tampere Fetish Factory has been one of the most popular fetish events in Finland. Sometimes maybe the most popular. Big fetish parties are really rare in Finland as there are only some to mention during a year. Of course there are also smaller club evenings in different cities but they are also quite numbered.
Tampere Fetish Factory has been the most popular place for fetishists in Finland. I'm not sure why it is so but TAFF always gathers a lot of latex loving people to party and have fun. I enjoy this because I love to see that there are many like-minded people in Finland too even though kinky subjects and fetishism are really rare subjects in everyday life if not a taboo. Once again I felt like at home in TAFF because there were really kind people around who admired others and accepted them the way they are. This is an ultimately important and necessary feeling for me and it's almost the only thing that I need from the occasions. Year after year TAFF has managed to do things right concerning this feeling.
I met many friends I had seen earlier some time or even long time ago. Every chat we had I enjoyed. For some people I mentioned that it would be nice to see in "real life" too. Some people prefer seeing just at the events so I understand if we see each others just there. But some people are willing to get known more and I must say I've made few really good friends from the fetish scene. I'm happy that fetish parties isn't all about playing because I'm looking just for friendships and enjoy the looks of beautiful clothing. TAFF is the best event in Finland for this.
The party ended in 01:30 which is quite early moment of night. I guess it was ok as there had already been much of program and by that time you had had plenty of time to go around.
Summary
TAFF2019 was exactly what I was hoping for. The event nature was warm and welcoming. There were much friendly people around and even newbies could feel comfortable being part of the society. The program and shows were cool and DJ's played good music to create a great atmosphere. I loved to be there that evening.
I warmly recommend Tampere Fetish Factory events to everyone who are interested either in BDSM and/or fetishism. If you aren't into either one of them you still can join and just enjoy the aesthetics and the look of the alternative fashion. For example I've seen many gothic people, cosplayers or ravers joining the crowd because of the nature of the party. And all the kinky parties are usually well supervised so just to mention to shy ones: You'll be safe in the party and no-one will push or harass you. (and if someone does, he/she will get eviction in no time!).
 |
| Sights of Tampere. Old picture as an insert. |
There could be even more question for TAFF parties. The number of participants was limited this year and people really enjoyed themselves once again. If the kinky society will grow and there will be more questioning it would be good to think through if it could be possible to grow TAFF to bigger occasion. But at the moment it might not be necessary as the finnish kinky and fetish scene is quite small and there are other parties and occasions around Finland too.
But I'd love to attend to more TAFF parties, if there would be them. That's a good reason to wait for the next TAFF!
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