Presentation – This will primarily be a lecture style presentation, with little interaction with the audience.
Q&A
Presentation with Q & A/Discussion – The presenter will use about half of the time to present information about the topic, and leave the remainder of the time for discussions or questions.
PAN
Discussion Panel – This will be a discussion amongst a panel of presenters that may or may not include time for discussion or questions from the audience.
MOD
Moderated Discussion – The majority of the workshop will be a group discussion on the topic of the workshop. The presenter will help guide the conversation and keep it generally on topic. You may participate at whatever level you are comfortable.
EXP
Experiential Workshop – These workshops will require a high level of required participation and are highly interactive.
Ever wished you could sit down and talk with others who also know what it's like to be in a polyamorous relationship? Here's your chance. This program will be an unstructured facilitated group discussion on the poly relationships topics of your choosing. Come to participate in the discussion, ask for support, advice and feedback, or just to listen to the thoughtful, articulate, wise words of others who have "been there done that". Gain insight you can take home with you and apply to your own poly relationships so as to help them thrive while connecting with others who by their own experience understand your relationship hopes, dreams and challenges.
Anita Wagner is a polyamory educator, activist, writer, spokesperson, and trained discussion facilitator. Her website and blog at practicalpolyamory.com serve polyamorists and the larger polyamory community by offering useful resources on polyamorous relating. She is also the FPR 2008 Keynote speaker and a more full bio appears under that description.
We will explore the Mythic Hero's Journey as a model for psychological growth and development, including the stages, tasks, and challenges of the Journey, and how they aid you in becoming your own person. Using a specially designed workbook, participants will be led through experiential exercises and journal insights of how your relationship experiences aid you in navigating your own personal Hero's Journey.
Jim Polymagi is a writer and workshop leader specializing in Life/Work Transitions. In his 50's, with a 30-year commitment to pursuing a sacred sexual path and open marriage, Jim focuses on helping people understand the dynamics of their personal journey, and on assessing the archetypal energies active in their life.
We will explore the nature of Archetypes, and Twelve Archetypes that relate to the challenges on the Hero's Journey. Participants will be led through an experiential exercise using cards of the Twelve Archetypes to assist discovering the archetypes which are most active in their Journey. We will then focus more on understanding how the Archetypes of Transformation and growth can be part of your Journey in Polyamory.
Jim Polymagi is a writer and workshop leader specializing in Life/Work Transitions. In his 50's, with a 30-year commitment to pursuing a sacred sexual path and open marriage, Jim focuses on helping people understand the dynamics of their personal journey, and on assessing the archetypal energies active in their life.
Come join with our panel discussing the myriad ways in which people relate once out of the traditional box! This will be an informal, fun discussion about the ups and downs of poly relationships in all their wonderful variety, led by jaded experienced polyfolk who have seen it all (yeah, right).
Eric & Kim have been in several long-term, inclusive relationships, and have been a part of their local poly community since 1998. Fritz has also experienced poly relationships of various configurations and has been an active organizer in the Florida poly community for way too long.
This presentation will include suggestions for play activities to limit exposure to STDs. We will explore sexual anatomy, including finding the female (and male!) G-spot, and details about female ejaculation. There will be some props and toys to entice and spark your interest in developing your own unique experiences with your playmate(s).
Linda has been an LPN for 16 years, currently handling Worker's Comp claims. Her background includes experience in many areas of nursing: Psychiatric Private Practice, Med-Surg., Corrections, Physician's Office, and Juvenile/Adult Psych. Five years of her career were spent in an intensive mental health treatment program for juvenile girls where STDs and safer sex were a major issues. Linda is available to do similar workshops and can be reached at hummingbird1954@msn.com
We can spend hours talking about it. We can lose sleep over it. We can stop eating because of it. We can become ill because of it. What is it? Communication through conflicts and disagreements! You have all heard the mantra, “Communicate, communicate, communicate”. But many of you may say, “OK, how?” In this presentation we hope to provide some ideas and skills to strengthen your communication abilities.
Alicia has been poly for eight years. Seven of those years she has been in an open, live-in relationship with co-presenter, Jeffery. Jeffery has experience in multiple relationships from various perspectives and personal knowledge of being poly and still dealing with jealousy. Both Jeffery and Alicia have been on staff of FPR since 2003. Josie has been a political/social activist, organizer, and facilitator for the poly, LGBT, and queer communities in Florida since 1996.
We will be looking into the differences between true Christianity and the version - better described as Churchianity - that most people remember from their youth. We will also be delving into the Bible to see that neither God in the Old Testament, nor Christ Jesus in the New Testament, ever condemned the practice of multiple spouses. You will see that many rules are man-made, and that with God, in the end, it's all about love.
Tommy Douthat is an ordained Christian minister who also happens to be polyamorous, a local pastor and traveling evangelist. Tommy & his lovely wife lolly have successfully engaged in polyamorous relationships over the past 7 years, and they have an online ministry that reaches out to the sexually repressed, as well as bikers, musicians, artists, and a variety of society's outcasts and misfits.
Discuss the current state of polyamory in the media, online, across the country and elsewhere with some of the experienced activists involved. Learn why media relations is important for polyamory and why it can be both frustrating and rewarding to be in the spotlight. Find out what you can do in your community!
Anita Wagner has filled many poly activism roles on a national level.Cherie Ve Ard has a well-visited polyamory website, advice column and blog, as well as several media interviews to her credit. Shara (www.theinnbetween.net/poly1.html) is a self-promoted poly-activist who has been interviewed several times.
The Myers Briggs Type Instrument is the most commonly used personality test in the world. This tool also has an ideal relevance to relationships of all kinds, facilitating a greater understanding of one's self as well as the differences and similarities with other people. During the workshop we will talk about the 16 Types, how to determine your type, and how that type interacts with others in relationships. This will include additional information and activity different from previous years' sessions. Attendance in this workshop does include professional administration of the official MBTI test (typically this costs $50 or more).
Sterling is a Qualified Administrator of the MBTI and has been using it for years in business, team building, and assisting his own and others' personal lives.
Maintaining a Long-Distance Relationship requires special effort
on the part of all members of the relationship. There will be discussion of
attitudes, do's and don'ts, and tips on making the distance a little shorter
than you thought it was. Q&A will follow. Those who have been working on this
type of relationship, please come and share wisdom. Those who have little or no
experience, please come and share questions. Who knows what we all might learn?
My name is Lumen, and I have been a LDR off a poly triad for fifteen
years. The triad itself has been in existence for 25 years, so between the five
of us, there is a poly world of experience! I am a Priestess of Wicca, and my
triad members are CAW (Church if All Worlds). They include both Sions and
Priestesses, and were among the earliest members of the Church.
Polyamory is complicated enough when everyone is in good health and has full mobility. What happens when you become ill? What happens when you can't drive long enough to visit a partner who lives a few hours away? How do you juggle a career and two partners when you barely have the energy to get through your average day? Come talk about it!
Sharon has lived a poly life and has been a poly activist for over a decade. She also knows what it's like to live with a disability, due to an injury sustained years ago, which has led her to years of disability advocacy as well. She knows what it's like to try to manage a poly life while living with a disability, and while she's doing much better these days, she'd like to help those dealing with the same set of challenges in their own lives or in the lives of their partners.
STDs are out there, and they can be scary! How is a polyamorous person supposed to embrace loving more than one and still be safe and responsible to their partners? We'll be discussing the practical sides of STDs: determining your personal risk tolerance, testing frequency, how and when to have 'the conversation' with a potential new lover, how to deal with an STD diagnosis in a sexual network, alternatives for safer sexual sharing, and reviewing a variety of agreements people have used, including Cherie's infamous Sexual History Spreadsheet.
Cherie Ve Ard has been practicing polyamory for over 15 years and while not medically trained, has done a lot of research on STDs and safer sex. She herself has been dealing with a high risk strain of HPV for over 5 years and in the course of her own personal research shares her opinions and findings on her website at www.serolynne.com
Polyamory is somewhat unique in that it includes folks from all kinds of orientations - gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, or just plain queer - and this variety influences how poly is practiced and perceived by those in the relationships. Come talk about it with our panelists!
Too varied to list here, our panelists have broad experience across many orientations and poly relationship styles. Their bios can be found under other presentations, however.
Technology can play a role in nearly every phase of a poly relationship - helping to find partners, building community, keeping in touch, managing schedules, honoring sexual & emotional boundaries, etc. It can all be a lot of fun too! We'll discuss some of the best online sites, tools, and techniques for using technology to enhance your relationships. Come just to listen, ask questions, or share your own ideas and experiences!
Chris is a technomadic geek/adventurer who has been traveling the country in a small solar-powered camper trailer. He is involved with communities on both coasts, and he regularly uses all sorts of geekly magic to stay close with people he loves.
Coming "out" about being poly is just one thing to be out about. Once you step outside traditional boundaries, you may find yourself thinking about being out about all kinds of other things, too: your sexuality, religious belief, gender identity, political persuasion, or even your penchant for goth wear and BDSM. Come discuss the pros and cons, the ins and outs of living OUT!
Bryan holds a master's degree in English Education as well as a master's in theology - where his thesis was "The Christian Trinity as Polyamorous Partners". He is now a doctoral student in theology and an ordained minister. His current career includes working as a public school curriculum specialist, teaching English and religion, and pastoring a church in Dade City. He lives with his three partners - Robert, Patrick, and Anson - in a newly purchased home in Dover, FL.
Living within a pagan family can have its own complications – what do you do when you live within a polyamorous pagan family? How do you incorporate a family of magic and a family of many loves? Come and listen while we share our experiences with you, and you can share your experiences with us.
Lumen has been an LDR off of a poly triad for sixteen years. The triad itself has been in existence for 25 years, so between the five of them there is a poly world of experience! Lumen is a Priestess of Wicca, and her triad members are CAW (Church of All Worlds). They include both Scions and Priestesses, and were among the earliest members of the Church. Meren has been in the polyamorous community for 7 years and in her present relationships for 6 years and 3 years. She has been philosophically pagan for most of her life, but has only been actively learning for the past few years, incorporating “the best of all worlds” into her belief system.
For many of us who participate in polyamory, our extended families of choice often function as a team in which we support one another emotionally, physically, financially, mentally and lots of other "ally's". Come have fun with us as we form teams to solve imaginary dilemmas and play initiative games and discuss how our teams develop communication and problem-solving skills. These activities are open to all abilities and fitness levels; however, please wear comfortable clothing.
Lauren considers herself a lifelong student and thrives working with people and learning more about humanity attested by her educational background in psychology and anthropology. She is currently working on a thesis on polyamory for a master's degree in Sexology. Her knowledge of team building activities is motivated simply by personal enjoyment and she makes no claims as to official training or "expertness".
This presentation will equip you with the tools you need to make a right royal mess out of your relationship life. Topics include how to make your partners distrust you, how to react in the most destructive manner possible to relationship problems, and advanced techniques like planting seeds of resentment. We will also cover miscommunication, impossible expectations, and how to turn boundaries into blunt instruments. Folks who want healthy relationships may also want to attend, to learn what not to do.
Music and laughter will introduce participants to the seven basic energy centers of their body. Based on Margot Anand's Sky Dancing Tantra this presentation will help to open up your crucial energy channels and facilitate better relationships with your partners. Music from the workshop will be available for purchase.
Nancy Casey is a MSW and a Poly/Lifestyle-friendly coach in private practice. Darrell Casey is a Values Realization Trainer. They have been in a committed polylove relationship for over 25 years. Both have been trained as facilitators by Margot Anand and are licensed by the Sky Dancing Institute. They currently provide services as relationship coaches and Tantra Tutors and are available to present full day or weekend Tantra workshops.
Over the last couple of years much has happened on the public stage that has the power to affect poly lives in ways both good and bad. The good news: Polyamory is no longer socially obscure. The bad news: Visibility attracts attention from people who actively oppose the way we live our lives. The image of polyamory is being driven today by local, regional and national television and print media. As we all know, Florida poly community members and leaders have had moments in the spotlight, some welcome and some not so much. National and international media interest in polyamory is at an all time high with no real end in sight. Increasingly the media is the grass roots playing field that offers the most effective means of influencing public opinion – and hopefully public policy – in our favor. Come hear more and ask questions about this exciting but challenging trend.
Anita Wagner is a polyamory educator, activist, writer, spokesperson, and trained discussion facilitator. She is a board member of LovingMore and is co-founder of Chesapeake Polyamory Network and the Institute for 21st Century Relationships. Anita has presented educational programs on polyamory at ITCR's Building Bridges, the Florida Poly Retreat, the Loving More® East Coast Conference, PolyLiving, Free Spirit Alliance Beltane, Dark Odyssey and Black Rose. Her website and blog at practicalpolyamory.com serve polyamorists and the larger polyamory community by offering useful resources on polyamorous relating and poly/sexual freedom activism.
