The Martlet

In less than one week’s time things on campus are going to get a little bit sexier.

Urban Dictionary defines“Sexapalooza” as “the act of having so much great sex over a period of time that you cannot easily recall any one specific act.” For Charles Freund, a director-at-large on the UVic Students’ Society, the term “Sexapalooza” refers to a three-day event that will take place on campus starting February 7.

The UVSS, in conjunction with other student advocacy groups, is putting together Sexapalooza, taking place from February 7 to 9 in the Student Union Building. Each day will be packed with workshops, demos and public speakers running from 11:30 a.m. onwards.

“The UVSS hasn’t had a sex-positive event in Victoria or the SUB for a long time,”says Freund.

It was for that reason that the UVSS decided to host Sexapalooza this year.

Freund hopes that the event “will remove some the taboo nature of sex, and show that it is OK to talk about it in a public forum.”

The jam-packed agenda includes activities such as a sex-toy workshop, a talk on polyamorous relationships and a lecture entitled “Kink 101.” The UVSS also hired Passion & Performance, a local dance company, to lead a workshop on chair dancing.

Sexapalooza is free and students are encouraged to come and go as they please. For the more sensitive workshops and lectures, organizers ask that people remain for the entirety out of respect to others participating.

This event has been a long time coming — Freund said the idea was first brought to the table last year before he was a director-at-large. However, it was only this year after the UVSS elections that the proposal was re-introduced and set in motion.

Other Canadian universities, such as the University of Toronto, are raising awareness on sex education. Many of these awareness campaigns focus primarily on the proper use of contraceptives and avoidance of sexually transmitted infections.

Sexapalooza, on the other hand, will explore different types and displays of healthy sexuality.

Since the beginning of November, members from the UVSS, UVic Pride, the Students Of Colour Collective, the Anti-Violence Project and the Women’s Centre have been hard at work planning the event.

“Some people worried we wouldn’t get everything together in time,” Freund admits. “But thankfully we had a great group working on this project.”

One main objective of the event is to teach students, faculty, UVic staff and members of the community about all different aspects of sexuality; Freund hopes that it will expand the realm of what people deem “appropriate” to talk about.

Freund encourages fellow students and community members to come and participate in the activities.

“Sexapalooza is about pushing boundaries,” he says. “It’s about sex, and it’s going to be super interesting.”