The programme for this year has not been confirmed yet. If you are interested in presenting a topic at Polyday, do get in touch.
In the meantime, here is a previous year's schedule:
PROGRAMME
12 noon
Meet and greet, time to get to know people and settle in.
1.00pm
Introduction to Polyday by the organisers in the main hall.
1.30-2.45pm
Poly 101
So, you've heard of poly, but you want to know more about it. Poly 101 will have a small panel of people giving their own perspectives, and some time to discuss and ask questions as well.
Poly Past, Present and Future
Where does polyamory come from? Is it an ancient concept that was merely re-imagined last century, or is it a new paradigm in how we deal with relationships? Who can we look to for advice about this – should we even try to find role models? Where do we think multiple-person relationships are going? These questions and more will probably come up in the discussion that will follow on from a little talk from Bobbu on his pet hobby – the history of love!
Contact Improvisation Dance
“Myriad Shades of Touch”
Introducing elements of a form of movement called “contact improvisation”, this session will be about: listening with your skin; speaking through your body; negotiating boundaries; differentiating qualities of touch; altering the “map of the body”; creating new meanings for touch, movement, gesture; refining our perception of inner space and body rhythms, as well as our outer sensory/spatial awareness.
3.00-4.15pm
Kinky Poly
Where 'kink' refers to all aspects of BDSM and fetish, this will be a discussion session with a hand-picked panel of guests from a variety of alternative sexuality and non-monogamous backgrounds. We'll be exploring the pros and cons of combining non-monogamy and kink, the joys and the pitfalls, and a number of tricky questions such as 'how does non-monogamy fit in a D/s context?' negotiating mis-matched kinks, switches and non-switches, and others before throwing the topic open to the audience. What questions have you been pondering?
Poly Pagan Sharing
A place for people who are poly and pagan (whatever that means to you) to get together and share thoughts and experiences. Will not be an organised ritual but may have a ritual element if all are happy with this.
Circus Skills Workshop
Professor Fiddlesticks is offering a Circus Skills Show and Workshop, as a place for children to have an hour and a bit whilst their parents/carers go and do more serious/adult things. Though adult children are welcome too! Two CRB-checked adults will be on hand to supervise.
At the end of the circus show and workshop (juggling, devilsticks, balancing, Derek the Diabolo, yoyo balls and unicycle) there may be time for some balloon modelling.
NB this session has nothing to do with polyamory... there won't even be a reference to it, as far as I can imagine!
4.30-5.30pm
Poly from a Feminist Perspective
A discussion that will centre around what areas feminism and polyamory have in common, what lessons polyamory and feminism can learn from each other and possibly how the two schools of thought can come together to mutually further our causes both personally and in the wider political world. This workshop will be given again with members of the Bristol Feminist Network so suggestions for "what feminism should know" about polyamory will have an extremely practical application!
Queer Poly
Queer poly folks: please bring yourselves and whatever topics excite you to our facilitated discussion. We have questions we've been pondering too and will bring them along. For example: "How do we have a Poly movement that queer people feel comfortable in?", "How does non-monogamy fits with the queer communities we are part of - is it supported, acceptable, challenged, unspoken?"
The Sex Ed You Wish You Had
Imagine we taught young people to swim the same way we teach young people about sexuality and relationships. Imagine we told them that it is important to be a skilled swimmer to successfully navigate adulthood. But instead of anybody sitting then down and teaching them about swimming, they learn about it from books, slideshows, rumors, or what's on television or in movies. Sometimes they might catch online videos of synchronized swimming and think that's what swimming is supposed to be like. Then when they turn 18, the doors are thrown open to the pool and they run and jump in. Many would miraculously be able to keep themselves above water, but many would also drown. 'Our Whole Lives' is a comprehensive sexuality education programme that offers age appropriate curriculum from age 5 to 99 and approaches sexuality and relationships from a holistic point of view. It goes deeper than traditional sex ed and examines issues of gender identity, body image, sexuality, communication, negotiation, boundaries and learning to embrace the joy and pleasure of sexual relationships without judgement or shame. Come sample some of the experimental learning of this amazing curriculum and learn the importance of making such curriculum more widely available.
5.30-7.00pm Dinner Break
This time is set aside for eating! You can either walk into Bristol to eat at a restaurant, toddle just down the road to one of many take aways, or stay in the venue and eat your own food, or have food delivered in.