Our Origin Story

By Ms. Constance

In August of 1997, I had already been involved in the kink community for a few years. There were regular gatherings in Lexington at that time, and I went to them often, as well as private parties. Louisville didn’t have any groups at that time. There had been a group previously, LATEX (Louisville Area Trust EXchange) but that had ended a couple of years earlier, and I wasn’t involved in it, though I knew people who were.

It was the early days of the internet, and had found some kink groups online and was active in them. In the summer of 1997, one of those groups planned a meetup, “Bash in the Bluegrass,” to be held in Louisville. We had about 45 folks attend, from The Netherlands to Canada and all across the US, with about half of them from Kentucky. I ended up arranging the scheduled activities for the weekend.

Our group had dinner on Friday night at Anthony’s by the Bridge, on Main Street. Saturday night we met at the Old Spaghetti Factory, then went to the long-defunct Sparks club. We played in the back area, and a couple more kinky people from Louisville found us there and joined our group. On Sunday, we met at the Galt House for brunch before going our merry ways.

It was a great experience, so much so that I didn’t want to let it end, so I decided to form a group in Louisville. I picked the first Saturday in October, and contacted Anthony’s again, only to discover that it was now Bearno’s by the Bridge. I asked if we could meet there, and they offered me their basement. I sent emails to folks in the area who had attended the Bash, and they invited folks they knew.

I christened it The Louisville Munch, and the night of October 4, 1997, I was both thrilled and stunned when 53 people showed up, and I knew I wanted to continue. In November of the same year, I added the Sunday munch, with our first meetings held at the Bluegrass Brewing Company on Shelbyville road.

I continued hosting the Munch for the first ten years. In October of 2007, I turned it over to Michael. During that time, I met hundreds of people through it, and it was one of the best experiences of my life and I have many great memories. The things that I was proudest of was that we never cancelled or changed the dates of the Munch, that we always met on the first Saturday, no matter what, and that everyone was welcome, no matter their sexual, gender, or cultural identity. I am also proud of the community that grew from the Munch. It changed the face of kink in Louisville, I think for the better.