Twisted Hearts - The Bay Area's Favorite Kinky Anti-Valentine's Party is Back!

Twisted Hearts is a pansexual celebration where we revel in the rejection of the unashamed, commercialization of love and where we do things our own way! This is one event that won't be marching to the tune of the Valentine's Day industry. So let Paris keep the mantle of the city of love; we'll keep the Bay Area as the mecca of kink. While others celebrate conventional Valentine’s day, we will be hosting an epic anti-Valentines party.

Twisted Hearts is the perfect opportunity to connect with other like-minded folks to explore, learn, and play with. Whether you are single, coupled or in a poly dynamic, you are welcome and invited to join us at Twisted Hearts. We will be featuring all kinds of decadent delights that would cause even the kinkiest cupid to be envious!

If you identify with any flavor except vanilla - head on down to Twisted Hearts on February 10th to be with your people. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

The Venue

The backdrop for the night is a clean, professionally maintained community venue with ADA-compliant bathrooms, a multi-person shower, sauna, distinct social, play, and cuddle areas, etc. The venue is located in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland with easy freeway and BART access.

Twisted Hearts will Feature

• Distinct social and play areas.
• Cozy cuddle room for aftercare, pre-care, and non-sexual intimate touch.
• Ice-breakers to help you connect with new people.
• House tops.
• Professionally catered snack spread for when a different kind of hunger strikes, with options for our vegan guests.
• Fully equipped and vibing playspace with curated playlists to set the mood.

Connect

Twisted Hearts will be featuring fun activities towards the start of the party as a way to break the ice with fellow attendees. 

As with all AfterDark events, we will have role stickers and conversation starter stickers. In addition - we will be using a wristband system to help people navigate social interactions. People who are comfortable being respectfully approached about the possibility of play will be wearing yellow wristbands. If you see someone wearing a red wristband, that indicates that they prefer to not be approached about play. Let them bring up play, don’t bring it up to them.

If you want to meet and chat with others who are coming to this party ahead of time then check out the Twisted Hearts after RSVPing here on the Bloom Community app.

Play

A small accessible dungeon already exists on the ground floor at the venue. We will be bringing in more equipment for guests to play on. Enjoy the kinky furniture - or get creative and show us how else you might use the space. We will have spaces for erotic play and we will also create a quieter non-sexual cuddle area for ace folks, for aftercare, and for those looking to get away from the energy of the play areas. 

Dress Code

It's Anti-Valentines so we encourage dressing to the theme! Kinky or sexy outfits, lingerie, or fetishwear are also welcome as are dungeon blacks. We encourage you to dress up - make an effort to impress but if nothing else comes to mind then dress as you would for a fancy night out. You can be kinky, subversive, etc. No street clothes, etc.

Please be mindful that you might have to wait in line outside and that you are welcome to arrive in regular clothes and then change into your kinky outfit once you get inside!

All Are Welcome

This party is for adults ages 18 and above, of all gender identities, sexual orientations, relationship configurations, races, ethnicities, body types, roles, and experience levels. We expect all attendees to honor the diversity of our communities. We will not tolerate behavior or language to the contrary at our events.

Date and Time

Saturday, February 10th, 2023, 8:00 PM to 1:00 AM. Doors will close at 11:00 PM. Late arrivals will not be allowed entry and not be refunded so please arrive before 11:00 PM

Entry

Presale tickets are required - the venue address will only be sent to ticket holders. Ticket prices are tiered as follows. All tickets include a rapid COVID test.

• Up to January 19th: $50
• January 20th to January 27th: $70
• January 28th to February 8th: $85
• February 9th to February 10th: $100
• Financial Access: $25
• Volunteer: $15

If you are a member of one of our partner affinity groups, please check with your group for discount codes. 

A portion of all ticket sales will go towards enabling access to the event for low-income community members. Financial access tickets may be purchased on the ticket page while they remain available. Volunteer tickets help defray the cost of rapid testing. Your regular ticket fees help cover venue rent, rapid tests, security, catering, performers, and other professional service fees, food, decorations, A/V, purchase and maintenance of play equipment, paying the guest hosts and so much more. AfterDark believes in paying people for their time, knowledge and experience. We are also putting aside a portion of all excess revenue to put towards acquiring a permanent home for AfterDark.

This event will sell out in advance of the event date. Purchase your tickets as early as possible for the best available prices and to guarantee your spot - don’t miss out! We sometimes get a few cancellations the days leading up to the event so place yourself on the waiting list if you see a sold out message.

Organizers

Twisted Hearts is presented by the AfterDark Events team each of whom bring many years of experience organizing events in the kinky community. Feel free to reach out to them at @AfterDark-Events on Fetlife or info@afterdark-events.com with any questions or concerns before, during or after the event.

COVID-19 Safety

For everyone’s safety, you’ll need to pass a COVID-19 rapid test at the door (included with ticket). You are required to have had a full first round of vaccines and at least one booster. Masks are optional at this event.

More COVID-19 Safety Information

• Updated Entry Policy For COVID Omicron Variant of Concern
• Event Rules and Consent Guidelines

MonkeyPox

We are monitoring the situation regarding Monkeypox. We encourage everyone to bring themselves up to speed on this virus and set their risk management practices accordingly. See this CDC page for relevant information that you may find useful. As a reminder make sure you use the provided cleaning supplies before and after playing.

Consent is Paramount

Part of our responsibility in fostering a consent culture is to provide some guidance to help prevent consent incidents from happening at our events.

Please make sure you read and understand our Consent and Guidelines before you come to any AfterDark event. By coming to an event you acknowledge that you understand the rules and agree to abide by them. If you have any questions or need clarifications on any of our rules or guidelines please contact us before coming to an event.

Any consent concerns can be confidentially given to the hosts at the event, on Fetlife @Afterdark-Events or by email at info@afterdark-events.com.