Report from PolyLiving 2008

PolyLiving 2008 is now a memory, and what a fond one it is. Attendees declared it by far the best polyamory conference they'd ever attended primarily due to the high quality of the presentations.

A huge thank-you to Robyn Trask and Jesus Garcia of LovingMore for their tireless work to put this conference together. Likewise, many thanks to registration assistant Lyndell, whose friendly smiles and hugs added to the warmth of the weekend.

I liked all of the workshops I attended. Rev. Dr. Beverly Dale's "Love and Marriage in Bible Times: Lessons in Polyamory" was excellent, as was attorney Diana Adams's "Love Wars: Polyamory and Law, Politics, and Culture". So was Polyamorous NYC's Birgitte Philippides's "Group Sex and Emotional Safety: How to Successfully Navigate Threesomes, Foursomes and Beyond!" This is not to take anything away from the other presentations - I'd have attended all of them if that were possible.

Monica Hesse of the Washington Post was present all weekend attending workshops and interviewing participants, especially those from the Washington, DC area. (Yours truly has reason to believe she will be quoted and her picture will be included.) The article is to be published some time yet this week. Monica was the essence of professionalism, going to great lengths to help people be comfortable with her presence.

The most wonderfully unique aspect of attending a polyamory conference is the warmth and good-will vibe that builds throughout the weekend. This was especially true at this conference. By the time the festivities were winding up on Sunday, the positive, loving energy was palpable. Hugs were flying about the crowd gathered in the hotel lobby for a good 30 minutes following the closing sessions, and it was clear that no one really wanted to leave and return to the real world. But as my partner, Jim Fleckenstein, is fond of saying, Brigadoon does indeed vanish into the mist, to return after the requisite time has passed. At least in this case it's more likely only one year instead of one hundred.