TOMKAT Campout: Fairy Tales

What it is

TOMKAT is an AB/DL and ageplay focused week-long camping experience in northern Ontario, running twice a year since 2013. It was founded to unite the communities around Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Kingston; today it draws attendees from across North America and as far as Europe. Most are ageplayers and their caregivers, alongside bigs, middles, puppies, furries and friends.

The week

A full schedule every day. Wild and loud: the pirate battle, turbo paint twister, finger paint wars. Quiet and slow: storytime at night, board game marathons, two crafts a day. Plus classes, discussions and demonstrations, campfires, hiking, a talent show, sing-alongs, swimming, and simply relaxing with new friends.

The site

Fox Haven sits on over 130 acres, reached by a kilometre of winding driveway past forest, ponds, granite and wetland. There is a private lake with an island and water lilies, and the land is shared with moose, sandhill cranes, eagles, beaver, foxes, herons and turtles.

The camp is deliberately set apart, with a gated drive whose code is known only to attendees. As the organisers put it, that privacy "allows people to feel freer to express their true selves and explore aspects of themselves they don't always feel comfortable showing".

Practicalities

Two heated buildings hold 12 indoor beds between them; around 50 tent sites are available on the property. There is an all-season washroom with running water and outdoor showers near the main building. The site is off-grid, running on a mix of solar, manpower and a generator.

Three meals a day plus a snack, with a 24-hour self-serve breakfast bar. Lunch and dinner are communal, and every attendee takes one kitchen shift for every two to three days they are there.