Welcome to SMIRC, the
Summer MI Rope Conference
SMIRC 2020 and what is next for us
Due to a number of factors outside of our control I am very sad to announce that SMIRC 2020 will no longer be taking place. I am writing to explain our decision and let everyone know while SMIRC will not be happening this year it will be back in 2021.
SMIRC started as a vision shared between my darling attnwhor and I back in the year 2015. Our first attempt to make it happen was under the name SEMI rope (South East Michigan Rope) and was held at a hotel venue that sadly has since been lost.
Having been to larger rope conferences and events we realized what was desperately lacking in the Michigan rope community and wanted to bring it here to our state.
With that in mind we began the MI Rope Expo and SMIRC and it has been an excellent adventure even though a rather bumpy and often difficult one and while the emotional rewards of organizing such larger events is lovely the challenges are very real and this year has thrown us a doozy.
With the recent announcement that our chosen venue for this year will be closed until further notice, we have looked into other venues, but to no avail.
So, I discussed the reality with my most trusted advisors, my fiance’ plainjane and my darling attnwhor and after sleeping on it for several days came to the conclusion that it is best to cancel SMIRC 2020 and try again next year.
The reasons are
a) We no longer have a guaranteed venue
b) Our presenter’s time is valuable and we cannot guarantee a venue to host the event at. We do not want them to have to spend time arranging vacations and travel only to not have a venue for them to present at.
c) Attendees time and money is valuable. Without the guarantee of a venue it is not fair to ask anyone to invest in the unknown.
d) The stress of arranging a venue for an event of this size and scale on short notice.
So what now?
First, anyone who has purchased a ticket will be given a full refund. I will also be sending an email to all ticket purchasers thanking them for their support and assuring them yes, we will be doing this again in 2021.
Second, MI Ropes and our smaller local classes will continue and we will continue to support other amazing Michigan ropes groups such as MHK, TC Rope, Lansing rope, the upcoming Shibari night in Detroit and the like with our time and efforts so that when SMIRC returns it will return to an energized and excited rope community.
Third, we are going to continue to look for kink friendly venues and hotels and hope that perhaps our original venue can recover and overcome what the city is asking them to do and will let everyone know of SMIRC 2021 as soon as possible.
Now I’d like to take a moment to give some thank you’s to a few people. Fishy for her efforts and work on the SMIRC website, Toga and Atreyu for their support both last year in labor and this year in suggestions and help finding presenters. Sabrehyde for her steady voice and solid feedback at weird hours when I call and interrupt her night looking for advice. Korsi for her energy, Achilles for his help with the promo shoot last year that sadly will be under utilized since we will not be doing the ad campaign as planned and Willow_room for their efforts to support us. Last, but certainly not least, my poly fam and their unending encouragement and support. I’ve joked that I don’t ride the crazy train, I drive that mother fucker and for some reason they keep on taking the ride with me which I can’t thank them enough for.
Cheers everyone. Stay safe and kinky until we see you again at SMIRC 2021.