The Primal Experience
Discover what awaits you at Maryland's most transformative adult festival
Festival Registration
Registration opens November 1st
Through the ages, people of all cultures and backgrounds have sought to better understand life and the world we all inhabit through the relationships with ourselves, with our bodies, with each other, and with our innermost desires.
Share Your Story
Do you have an experience from a Primal Arts Fire or Ritual that you would like to share?
Featured Experiences
Discover the unique activities and spaces that make Primal Arts Festival extraordinary.
The Primal Hunt
Our signature chase game with multiple intensity levels. Are you predator or prey?
Heart-pumping game that tests speed, agility, and stealth with customizable comfort levels.
Fire Circle Rituals
Nightly drumming, dancing, and fire performance with midnight snacks by Primal Chefs.
Sacred space for connection, release, and renewal around the ancient element of fire.
The Dungeon
Indoor play space designed by Studio 58 with professional furniture and ambiance.
Dedicated indoor space for intimate scenes and power exchange exploration.
The Pavilion
Covered outdoor play space with natural ambiance and Studio 58 furniture.
Open-sided covered space blending indoor comfort with outdoor energy.
Moonlight Den
Fireside space with soft furnishings and cozy nooks for intimate connections.
Comfortable gathering space for quieter moments and deeper conversations.
Sacred Workshops
Learn from renowned educators in kink, sacred sexuality, and spiritual practices.
Educational experiences covering everything from rope to sacred sexuality to fire play.
"You're laying on your back in the cool grass. The Fire is burning bright and so are all the stars. The drumming reverberates through the ground and through you. You're at Primal Arts Fest."
(Sound on for full experience!)
What to Expect
Primal Arts Festival offers experiences you won't find anywhere else. Here's what awaits you.
Fire & Flow Arts
Nightly fire performances, spin jams, and opportunities to learn flow arts
Sacred Workshops
Educational sessions on kink, sacred sexuality, and spiritual practices
Ritual & Ceremony
Sacred rituals, drumming circles, and spiritual ceremonies
Community Connection
Deep connections with like-minded souls in a consent-focused environment
Stories from the Fire Circle
Hear from attendees about their transformative experiences at Primal Arts Festival.
Spark by Riley
So often in life we lose sight of ourselves.
Whether we stamp it down to conform,
Or we have it beaten out of us,
By those who think it wrong.
We lose our spark,
The glimmer of our truest desires.
The starlight of freedom.
We forget how to be who we want, instead of who society thinks we should be. But for some of us, we keep hold of the spark, we hold it deep inside ourselves, where not wind, nor rain, nor truly any force of man or nature, can take it from us.
And when the time is right, that spark may be nurtured, into a roaring fire, that will burn away all the incessant trappings, of a society that thinks it knows, what's best and correct for all. We will stand naked before the flame.
Dear Reader
A little over a week ago I was at an event in Maryland called Primal Arts Fest. There alongside 170 or so other amazing, kinky people I found a home and a family. For 6~ish days and 5 nights I allowed myself to be vulnerable. I opened my mind and heart to the people around me, to my authentic self; unburdened by the worry if I would be enough.
To my very pleasant surprise, I was bolstered instead of harmed; I was elevated instead of laid low, I was cared for and accepted instead of othered or dismissed.
Since leaving, friends and family have asked me how I felt? Did I enjoy my vacation? What did I do? To them only a few things have remained unchanged regardless of what percentage of the specifics I keep to myself. "It was a transformative experience." I've said it dozens of times in the past few days and it is the most truthful answer I can give.
This is due in part to the leadership of Sam and Leland, due in part to the nature of our community, due in part to numerous staff, presenters, volunteers, and attendees milling about that hill in Maryland, and due in part to my own commitment to make this a special time in my life.
— Ty
The Ritual
The smell of the burning fire draws you into the encampment from afar. A feeling of freedom and passion pushes into your feet as you are carried toward the flames…zipp zipp awhooooo. Thru the gate with the guardian beckoning you in. The feel of the gravel dirt on your feet just as the drums begin to dance.
The ritual begins after the people who were called filter through the space…their faces full of excitement, passion, and fervor. The dance begins, color swirls. A tale is told and wide eyes stare on. People are called into the circle before long. The long line of drummers set the pace… dundundundundun.
A howl erupts from the crowd and it is answered by many assembled. Sparks fly as the firekeeper stirs the flame. I find myself lost in the dance. No longer just an observer but apart of the energy and flow. Following the circle and finding my rhythm within it. Faces swirl, faces laugh, faces shed what holds them back before the flame.
— Mikael
Bonds Forged
This camp had me pushing my body in ways I didn't plan. Created a bond forged from rope, and giggles. Compassion, and pain, and trust. A person grounding me in my purpose while I rose into the air, being the voice with the words I needed. Calm, centered, correct.
Strengthened the link with breath, blood, and steel between myself and my life partner. Roaring, breathing, face breaking laughter. The person who wants the least to cause me pain, causing such intense pain, with focus and deep love.
This camp rewrote my experiences with rope and hooks. It established that when I say no, I mean it. When I am silent, I have reasons. In that silent observation I saw so much. In the anger it caused and what people will say in that anger I found more appreciation for my intuition. That I will not be shamed for my choices.
— Sam
The Hunter's Moon
The moon looks amazing tonight. As I walk around, it keeps hiding behind the clouds. Peeking through, and around the clouds.
Playing coy with me.
Like a delectable prey frolicing in and around the dancers by the fire.
Enticing me to chase after it.
While the moon is safe from me in the clouds, the fire and revelers will not stop my teeth from sinking into its quarry.
— Cernunnos
Keeper of Jelly Bean
I know it sounds solipsistic when I try to explain it, but Primal Arts Fest '23 felt to me like being surrounded by hundreds of people I knew who knew me and wanted me to be happy. Even though it was cold, windy, & rainy out, emotionally, I felt like I was in the very heart of hygge, like I was being supported by the hands of loving gods on a breezy summer night with Texas panhandle stars overhead, in warm, calm water with no sharks, water moccasins, alligators, or jelly fish.
In my mind, I kept hearing Coleman Barks's voice reciting the end of Rumi's "Moses and the Shepard":
When you eventually see through
the veils to how things really are,
you will keep saying again and again,
"This is certainly not like we thought it was!"
— Rebecca, Keeper of Jelly Bean
We thank you all for sharing your experiences
Each story is a spark that keeps the fire burning