In Case You Were Unaware, There's a Fetish Flea Market in Marlborough

MARLBOROUGH, MA—Leave the kids at home for this one.

The New England Leather Alliance (NELA) is bringing back the Summer Fetish Flea Market to Marlborough. Happening Saturday, July 23, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the event is primarily an adult-themed shopping market with 35 vendors from around the region.

"NELA tries to keep at least one of the Fetish Fair Fleamarket’s (FFF) each year centrally-located to New England, so that members of our community from all over the region can access it with relative ease," Liya, director of social media for NELA, told Patch. "Also, NELA faces the same difficulties that many alternative-sexuality organizations face when trying to find homes for their events -- many host facilities won't even consider us, due to either their own fears and biases, or concern over public backlash. We're glad that our current host site for the Summer Flea is willing to accept us."

The event also features a series of educational demonstrations on topics such as self-bondage, erotic hypnosis, wax play and more. 18+ only, tickets available at the door, cash sales only, $10.

Roughly 600-800 attend the summer event, while another event, held in the winter, draws up to 3,200, according to organizers.

The New England Leather Alliance, according to its website, is "an organization dedicated to making a safe place in the world for all leather/fetish/sm people through education, advocacy, and charitable giving."

NELA is matching up to $1,000 donated by July 1 to the PulseVictims fund.

"Our FFFs attract people of all ages, genders and orientations -- men and women, transgender people, straight, gay, bi, lesbian, queer, asexual, etc." said Liya. "The one common trait is that they all possess an alternative sexuality -- an interest in kink/BDSM/leather -- that they wish to explore and express, and the FFFs provide a safe place for them to do so."