Frequently Asked Questions
Here you will find the answer to many questions. Can’t find yours? use the button at the bottom of the page.
What is the refund policy?
Ticket sales go through Odessa Amsterdam – they do not refund tickets, but you can sell your ticket to someone else (no need to inform us).
How can I attend this festival?
You can buy a ticket via this link. Yes, it’s that simple 🙂 After doing that you have secured yourself a spot. There’s a limited amount of tickets, so make sure you get one, and… early birds get a discount 🙂
When and where is this festival exactly?
The date of this two-day edition of the Intimacy Festival is January 21-22 2023.
The location is Odessa Muiderpoort, Ter Gouwstraat 3, Amsterdam. Google maps link
How do I get there?
Odessa Muiderpoort is at walking distance (5 minutes) from trainstation Amsterdam Muiderpoort. parking in the area is expensive. Finding a P+R is usually a good solution for those who come by car. Parkbee offers more affordable parking solutions too.
What if I want to come later than 10h?
No problem, you can arrive later. You will miss the opening circle with practical announcements and introductions of the facilitators and speakers, as well as some grounding exercises. Please do read the festival agreements (below) before arriving so you are aware of our policy. Ask other participants about practical announcements you may have missed. Also be aware of the no-phone and no-shoe policy in the building, and the presence of a photographer. Please approach the photographer yourself if you do not wish to be on photos (as you will miss this opportunity in the opening circle).
The doors will close during closing circles on both days, so no entry then.
What are the festival agreements?
To enjoy a festival that is as safe as possible, we have created agreements that we ask all participants to stick to:
Consent is key.
Ask for consent/permission before touching anyone.
You are responsible for your experience
Stick to your own Yes & No (“If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no!”)
The facilitator guides, and feel free to follow your own flow. There is nothing you have to do. You can adapt experiences to your needs.
This festival is ‘undies on’. There is no nudity or genital touch of any kind.
This is also a sober event, which means that alcohol and drugs are not served or allowed during the festival.
All of you is welcome.
All your emotions and feelings are welcome. We understand that it may be scary to come to a festival like this, that you get the giggles, or get hyper excited. All good!
If you need support: we have a special team of ‘Love Angels’ available. These are people recognizable with a pink bracelet with white wings. These people know how to hold space for you, and are there to sit with you through challenging emotions, celebrate your big and small victories, or anything else!
Stay curious.
We actively stand for inclusion. This means that in the event no racism, discrimination, misogyny, ableism, or shaming of bodies, sexualities, gender etc are tolerated. If this is something you cannot commit to, this is not your community.
We accept all political viewpoints and personal opinions, but we also actively stand against the spread of misinformation and harm. If you are looking for places to share your viewpoints on e.g. vaccine shedding, this is not your community.
Confidentiality
What happens here, stays here. We agree to not disclose other people’s attendance, or what they did here. For some people it is unfortunately unsafe to publicly announce they go to an event where intimacy is the topic.
You are free to share about your experiences, or the facilitators etc you met.
We ask you to limit the use of your phones and other devices to the wardrobes.
Do I need to bring my own food and drinks?
There will be food stalls with all kinds of yummy food! You can also bring your own food and have a potluck on the ground floor or in the lounges.
Can I come alone or do I need to bring a partner or friend?
You are welcome to bring all your friends, but it’s also fine to come alone. Most people do in fact. The openings circle and the workshops in the first round take into account that you may not know anyone, and support you in finding your desires and boundaries.
A festival like this is a great place to meet new people and make friends!
Is the whole festival English spoken?
The festival uses English as primary language to include as many people as possible. To acknowledge that we are in The Netherlands, and to accommodate those who prefer Dutch, in most workshop rounds there will be one workshop held in Dutch. The schedule tells you which workshop has what language.
In principe gebruikt het Intimacy Festival Engels als voertaal. Om ook mensen die de voorkeur geven aan Nederlandstalige workshops te voorzien, zal er elke workshopronde één Nederlandstalige workshop zijn.
Who will be teaching?
Check out the amazing teachers, speakers and pop-up shop owners we have selected for you! They introduce themselves on the page with facilitators/speakers and the pop-up shops.
Whats the relationship between The Intimacy Festival with Odessa Muiderpoort?
Odessa Muiderpoort is the party that exploits the location where this festival takes place. Exploring Deeper rents the space from them. Odessa has their own events, like the program on Saturday night (which is not part of the Intimacy Festival, but you do get free access with your ticket!).
What's the deal with the Saturday evening program / party?
You get a free ticket for the evening program, curated and hosted by Odessa Muiderpoort as a gift with your ticket to the Intimacy Festival. The evening will a.o. include ecstatic dance sets. You can find their program here
What about COVID measures?
We strongly suggest you take a COVID self-test before traveling to the festival, and to take another one five days after the festival.
If you have any COVID-related complaints, we trust you will stay at home.
What if I can't come anymore?
No need to email us or inform us in another way. Just go where you need to go 🙂 You can sell your ticket to someone else, there’s no refund policy (ticket sales go via Odessa Amsterdam).
How can we contact you with questions?
If you have a question that isn’t answered by the FAQ, you can email us at info<at>intimacyfestivalholland.com
With questions about tickets specifically, you can email us at tickets<at>intimacyfestivalholland.com
If your question is about not receiving a confirmation by Chipta: Chipta doesn’t always send confirmations. If your payment was successful, this is your proof you have your ticket.
Where can I go with feedback/complaints?
We want to welcome, even encourage you to reach out when you have feedback, when you feel your boundaries were crossed, or any other experience that leaves you feeling unpleasant.
During the event itself, there are two designated and recognizable persons who you can always approach. There will also be a phone number you can reach out to for support per phone call or whatsapp, just for this occasion. For any feedback after the event you can reach out to Wilrieke, or their accountability pod. This is the page where you can go.
What is consent and why is it so important?
Consent is a mutual agreement where everyone involved is fully informed about what is about to happen.
To learn and to grow we need to feel safe. Without feeling safe it is much easier to get hurt or even experience trauma.
Are you curious to learn more about consent? This is a recent interview Wilrieke had with Cycle Care about the topic.
How queer-friendly is this festival?
We both (Wilrieke & Annet) identify as queer persons. We know how hard it can be to feel at home at festivals that are often, with the best efforts, not that welcoming to queer folks.
We aim to be as queer friendly as we can, although we realize we are always learning. We have invited our favorite queer facilitators, speakers and performers and we make sure that during each workshop round there is at least one workshop that is visibly queer.
We also stay away from fashionable phrases like masculine/feminine and ask our facilitators to do the same. Bathrooms are not gender specific, (parts of) workshops won’t be either. In workshops that are often related to the gender binary (e.g. tantra) we ask facilitators to refrain from that.
How do you create inclusivity for all people? For example LGBTQIA+ people, POC and disabled people?
We aim to create events that are welcoming to as many people as possible. We know for those who are part of a minority group, it can be hard to feel welcome.
We strive for broad representation of people from all walks of life among our teachers, speakers, performers and booth/pop-up shop presenters.
We understand there is a very fine line between representation and tokenism, and we try to tread that carefully. We know all the people we have invited for this event personally, and the first reason for inviting them is their quality and awesomeness! We also know it is way easier to come to an event where you feel like you belong. Where there are folks like you.
We hope you feel at home.
How accessible is this venue for disabled folks?
We regret deeply that this venue isn’t very accessible for disabled people. Wheelchair accessibility is limited to the ground floor (the location of the pop-up shops, and potentially a workshop space), as well as the indoor garden. There is no elevator in the building, and no dedicated all-access bathrooms.
We aim to find better fitting solutions for future events. Unfortunately, venues with multiple rooms that are open to the topics of intimacy and sexuality are rare.
We welcome feedback, reflections, and suggestions.
Will there be sex and/or nudity at this festival?
During the Intimacy Festival there won’t be nudity (unless for workshop purposes, and then it will be clearly announced), genital touch or sex. The agreements may be different during the parts organized by Odessa Muiderpoort, the Saturday night.
Do I need to touch other people or be touched?
Absolutely not. You can fully participate in this event without touching anyone.
Is there an online place where I can find other participants?
Who is Wilrieke Sophia?
They identify as queer, sex-positive, polyamorous and kinky. Wilrieke is based near Amsterdam, The Netherlands where they openly combine being a mother of three daughters with their work.
Tell me about Exploring Deeper
We acknowledge everyone is learning and may make mistakes in addressing others, ourselves included. Making mistakes is welcomed in our workshops. Intentionally causing harm by discrimination, racism, misogyny, shaming, bullying, spreading disinformation etc is not tolerated. As a team we are actively speaking up against these issues, and repeated misconduct will lead to remove the person causing harm from the workshop and potentially withhold access to future events. This is our website.