Sexy Spring IV
SEXY SPRING IV Workshops and Schedule
Paper Workshop Schedule
Sexy Spring IV Workshop Schedule (pdf) — single page
Sexy Spring IV Workshop Schedule (pdf) — booklet form
Friday - June 8, 2007
Kinky Bike Ride
4:00pm - 6:00pm, Uptown Transit Center (1 Block North of Lake and Hennepin, Minneapolis)
Meet at the Uptown Transit Center, and ride to Pi (2532 25th Ave S), past the Smitten Kitten and other sexy Lake Street businesses.
Sexy Spring Meet and Greet
7-9pm Pi, 2532 25th Ave S
Come join us for social time at Pi!
Session Times
| 9:30-10:00 am | Welcome, snacks, etc. |
| 10:00-11:30 am | Workshop Session 1 |
| 11:30-1:00 pm | Lunch |
| 1:00-2:30 pm | Workshop Session 2 |
| 2:30-3:00 pm | Break |
| 3:00-4:30 pm | Workshop Session 3 |
| 4:30-5:00 pm | Break |
| 5:00-6:30 pm | Workshop Session 4 |
Saturday - June 9, 2007
Dance Party at Pi!
8pm-?? Pi
Dance Party! Get in free with your Sexy Spring name tag, schedule, or spoke card. Suggested donation: $5-10.
Sunday - June 10, 2007
Beyond Risk Reduction: Negotiating Smarter Sex
Presented by: Charlie Copper and Laura Hatfield
Saturday, Session: 4, Room 240
Understanding how to practice smarter sex is incredibly easy when compared with the task of discussing what safer sex practices partners will use and what decision-making criteria should be used when selecting a new or additional partner. Negotiating for safety with multiple partners or only one can be an extremely difficult, emotionally and practically. Although we all have access to the same information and statistics regarding risks, that information can be confusing, and perhaps more importantly, our reactions to that information vary widely depending on our individual risk tolerance. We sometimes perceive that a particular activity is more or less risky than it really is, for reasons that we will explore in this session. Additionally, we all attach different benefits to risky behaviors, making us more or less likely to want to engage in them. Our differing life experiences and personalities lead to different perceptions and tolerances of different types of risks, and lead to differing levels of seeing a benefit from a ‘risky’ activity. In this session we will explore first how we can assess our own risk tolerance, investigate how we can self-check the ‘reasonableness’ of our risk perceptions, and finally discuss how can we best express our concerns, beliefs, and feelings regarding personally acceptable and unacceptable risks respectfully and honestly.
CBT for You and Me, or Pussy Pain Galore
Presented by: Megan Mahony
Saturday, Session: 1, Room 215
Cock and Ball / Cunt Torture safety and techniques. Megan will answer questions, provide information and resources, and demonstrate.
Children’s Activities
Presented by: SS4 Staff
All, Session: All, Room 255
Activities for children will be available in room 255 during educational events. Activities will be available for kids of any age and will be held in the same building as the educational events. Pre-registration is requested. Activities may include arts and crafts, reading, and play.
Craft ‘n’ Bitch
Presented by: SS4 Staff
Saturday, Session: breakfast, Room art room
An informal breakfast activity to allow Sexy Spring participants to work on a craft project of their own or to become aquainted with the art room.
Dance Party!
Presented by: SS4 Staff
Saturday, Session: , Room Pi
Pi is at 2532 25th ave S in Minneapolis. The party is FREE with your Sexy Spring dance ticket ($5 without).
Either Or/Neither Nor
Presented by: Sarah Johnson
Sunday, Session: 1, Room 240
Either Or/Neither Nor is a student film focusing on gender and identity through the eyes of six young adults from the Ithaca College community in Ithaca, NY.
The film by Ithica College Alumni Jennifer Stott ‘05 and Sarah Johnson ‘06 chronicles the thoughts and ideas of students, alumni, and community members on the ins, outs, and in-betweens of their gendered lives. Sarah will present the film and answer audience questions.
Erotic Writing Breakfast
Presented by: SS4 Staff
Sunday, Session: breakfast, Room 3rd Floor Lounge
We will have prompts available for inspiration as well as paper and pens (though feel free to bring your own), but this is a very casual activity. Hang out, write, talk, be creative! Trade stories and collaborate.
Everybody Does It, Let’s Do it Together
Presented by: Beth Tub, Gregg Lind and Graydancer
Saturday, Session: 3, Room 220 and 230
In the first half of this very intimate and courageous workshop we will explore our thoughts and experiences of sensual self-touch/solo-sex/masturbation and the messages we’ve heard or told ourselves about it. We will also create and share what we wish we had been told, or would like to be told now.
In the second half of the workshop, those who wish to stay will create and engage in a shared solo-sex space shaped by our ideas of encouragement, safety/trust, and excitement. We will touch and watch only ourselves. Bring something to lie down on or cover up with (if you want), a mirror, and whatever else you need to comfortably enjoy yourself.
Part 1 (the discussion) is open to everyone. Part 2 will have two sections: a space for people with vulvas (led by Beth), and a space open to all people, led by Gregg Lind and Graydancer in room 230.
Flirting for Shy People
Presented by: Suzanne and Micah
Saturday, Session: 4, Room 210
Flirting for Shy People is a facilitated discussion on working through personal barriers around romantic communication. We will cover the basics of good communication, identifying our fears, strategies and tools for overcoming them, and dealing with both rejection and acceptance. Participant numbers will be limited and facilitation techniques will privilege folks who are shy about talking in groups.
Fun Toys for Cheap Perverts
Presented by: slut hannah and her Sir
Sunday, Session: 1, Room 215
Do you get a little too excited at Home Depot, Petsmart, or your local saddle and tack shop? We do too. Almost all of our favorite toys are re-purposed, perverted, or made by our own dirty hands. Learn to get a lot of toys for not a lot of money and see the fun potential in the everyday objects around you. Show and tell using items from your own collection strongly encouraged!
Guerilla Workshops
Presented by: Various
All, Session: All, Room Guerilla Rooms
If you would like to hold a workshop please sign up at the room and also see a Sexy Spring staffer in room 250 so that we can publicize it and provide a safer space staffer. Hold a workshop on a topic of your choosing!
How To Have a Sexy Spring
Presented by: Sexy Spring Collective
Sunday, Session: 4, Room 3rd Floor Lounge
Members of the Sexy Spring Collective will discuss how to organize a free, sex-positive skill share, including how to harness community resources, planning, and fundraising. It’s both more and less work than people expect! Learn skills to help you organize a skill-share in your home city! We will also discuss what went well and what went poorly at Sexy Spring IV.
Intermediate Bondage Skillshare
Presented by: LqqkOut
Saturday, Session: 3, Room 215
Practice what you learned in Intro to Japanese Bondage and pick up some tips at this hands-on, student-driven workshop. Aside from answering student questions, we will cover some decorative elements of bondage and apply them to more restrictive positions. While there will be some practice rope available, you may wish to provide some of your own if possible. Solo and partnered attendees are welcome.
Intoxication is a Message: What are we telling ourselves when we get intimate with alcohol and other drugs?
Presented by: Beth Tub, Sailor Holladay
Saturday, Session: 2, Room 210
Intoxication is a Message: What are we telling ourselves when we get intimate with alcohol and other drugs?
In whose interest are substances involved in our sexualities? What are we trying to invoke or avoid? What about using or being around substances has us feeling safe, sabotaged, comforted, confident, stolen, uninhibited, scared, sane?
In this workshop we want to explore what we get and what we don’t get from using with other people especially as it relates to physical and sexual intimacy. What are our patterns? What are our consequences? What do we want?
We invite people with interest in, disinterest in, and recovery from substance use to the conversation.
Introduction to Japanese Style Rope Bondage
Presented by: LqqkOut
Saturday, Session: 2, Room 215
This workshop covers the basics of rope bondage. We’ll cover safety, negotiation, rope types and care, basic knots, and learn a few basic ties to start you down the path of using bondage in your erotic play. This will be a very informative jump start for those of you who are new to rope. Practice rope will be provided. The class handout is available at http://www.kinkfriendly.org. Solo and partnered attendees are weclome.
Medium Speed Dating
Presented by: SS4 Staff
Saturday, Session: lunch, Room 3rd Floor Lounge
All-genders, all orientations. Meet other Sexy Springers in a low-pressure, fun, semi-structured, semi-sweet environment.
Negotiation and Consent
Presented by: Garrett
Saturday, Session: 1, Room 210
We negotiate constantly: at work, with family, with our children, with lovers, with friends. Any dialogue that addresses needs and power contains elements of negotiation even if we do not choose to see it as such. Negotiation around sex and relationship is rarely identified as such, which leaves it susceptible to manipulation and abuse.
Formal negotiation around physical contact and relationships has been developed extensively in many BDSM/Kink settings leading to clear and precise communication around issues that are usually hard to talk about. This type of formalized communication can help to take some of the shame and guilt out of asking for what we want and need. It can also help to identify abusive dynamics.
This workshop will offer a basic framework for negotiation. We’ll start with some of the formalized ideas used in BDSM and expand to encompass sex, relationships and everything else. There will be plenty of space for veteran players to offer advice and personal accounts. There will also be lots of time for questions and experimentation.
Nude Recreation: See More of Your Friends
Presented by: Members of Minnesota’s Nudist Communities
Saturday, Session: 1, Room 240
We will take this opportunity to explain what nude family recreation is all about. We will talk about body image, what to expect if you come to a nudist park, what to bring, and discuss Minnesota’s nudist organizations, both landed and non-landed. Attendees will be offered an opportunity to come to Avatan, Minnesota’s largest landed club, for an afternoon and evening of nude recreation sponsored by all the Minnesota clubs. Information will be provided to participants at the workshop about how to take advantage of this offer.
Personal Ads Laboratory
Presented by: SS4 Staff
Sunday, Session: lunch, Room 3rd Floor Lounge
Selling things online is hard work, especially selling ourselves! Join us in the lab for proper scientific discussion about ideas for what works, what doesn’t, and what’s just embarrassing.
Quiet Room
Presented by: SS4 Staff
All, Session: All, Room Quiet Room, 330
A place to go to decompress - there will be comfortable places to sit or nap and to take a break from fluorescent lighting. A Sexy Spring staffer will be present in this room during all educational events and will ensure that the room is stocked with tissues, snacks and drinks, and relaxing reading material. Please keep this room quiet.
Releasing the Animal Within - Animal Role Play
Presented by: Chargerpony
Saturday, Session: 4, Room 215
We will take an in depth view of Animal Role Play from both the animal’s and handler’s perspectives. Interest in all types of animal role play, (puppies, kitties, ponies, etc.) is on the rise in the general community. We would like to conduct a healthy discussion about everything from the power exchange and consent aspects to the nitty-gritty details about what gear a person needs to get started with this adventure!
Sexual Energy and Woo Woo Magik 1
Presented by: Garrett
Sunday, Session: 2, Room 210
There is something special about sex and sexual arousal. Some people claim it has mystical significance and others shudder at that suggestion. It is, however, an undeniably powerful exchange and experience. During this workshop, we will, hopefully, refrain from arguing over terms and focus on results. How can sex be used to improve overall health and wellbeing?
I want to do this workshop not because I know a lot about the topic but because I’m interested in learning about it. I sense a strong connection between the energies involved in sexual, kinky and intimate exchanges and the types of changes that happen during body work, energy work or meditation. I will offer a framework and some questions to facilitate discussion, but the bulk of the information will be supplied by those who attend.
The rigid restrictions put on people who work in therapeutic settings keep them from exploring healing of a sexual nature. This workshop will be a venue for those people to share how healing arts can inform, augment and combine with exchanges of a sexual, intimate or kinky nature.
This is a two part workshop: the first part will be discussion and the second part will be hands-on demonstrations. Anyone with experience or information to share will be encouraged to do so during the first part. Between the first and second parts I will meet with people willing to demonstrate during the second half.
Sexual Energy and Woo Woo Magik 2
Presented by: Garrett
Sunday, Session: 3, Room 210
(see part 1)
Sexy Minds, Subversive Performances: BenchPress Burlesque Brings Booty to Braininess
Presented by: BenchPress Burlesque
Saturday, Session: 2, Room 240
BenchPress Burlesque presents a short history of burlesque along with a sneak-peak at our own sexy political satire. For us, the stage is a way to bring visibility to our perspectives and can be safe way to transition from talking about our politics (safer sex, consent, etc) to actualizing them. The BPB panel will facilitate a discussion on What is Sexy? and How do our Politics Influence our Sex Acts? along with other thought-provokingly panty-dampening questions.
Sexy Spring Homebase and Welcome Room
Presented by: SS4 Staff
All, Session: All, Room Homebase, Room 250
Come here to hang out between workshops, find safer sex information and supplies, and schedule information.
Sexy Staff Office
Presented by: SS4 Staff
All, Session: All, Room 260
Sexy Staffers can meet and find information about safer space, volunteer schedules, and other items of interest.
Simmering Scenes: Keeping It HOT
Presented by: Graydancer, Ninja Sex Poodle and Ronin of Love, host of the Ropecast
Sunday, Session: 2, Room 215
This will be an informal workshop on ‘Hot Bondage’. I’m going to be discussing getting back to the original thrill of why we do What It Is We Do, and also on ways to Do It More–not in terms of frequency, but intensity. How do we play on the feelings and turn them up to 11? I’ll also be talking about the flow of a scene–planning, negotiation, how to deal with the things that go differently than expected, and how to adjust and go with changes in emotion, intent, and energy.
So How Does Polyamory Work, Exactly?
Presented by: Twin Cities Polyamory Group
Saturday, Session: 3, Room 240
So how does that work exactly?’ Members of a local polyamory discussion group talk about their experience loving non-exclusively. Amazing comedy, heartbreaking tragedy, and transcendent success stories. Creatively dealing with jealousy, living arrangements, and family-of-origin issues. Audience questions and experiences welcome.
Social Hour at Pi
Presented by: SS4 Staff
Friday, Session: , Room Pi
Join us at Pi for dinner, meet ‘n greet, and get to know fellow Sexy Spring attendees. Stay to dance. All ages welcome (21+ after 9pm).
The Practice of Sacred Intimacy and Intimate Touch. What Does It Mean?
Presented by: Susan Miranda
Sunday, Session: 1, Room 210
Join Susan Miranda in a discussion about the fine lines of being in intimate healing relationships with professionals for pay or some other exchange equal to money. Susan will facilitate a group discussion of individuals’ first hand experiences with the fine lines of experiencing care, touch, sensuality and, perhaps, sexuality in healing relationships. Workshop participants will have an opportunity to articulate their hopes and desires when seeking out these connections. The aspect of paying for these connections will be placed in the context of the complexity of all relationships and how all relationships can serve in a healing capacity.
Tools for Tops
Presented by: Mistress Mara
Sunday, Session: 3, Room 215
Curious about BDSM but don’t know where to begin? This workshop will provide some basic building blocks to get you started.
Negotiation. Flogging. Bondage. Verbal/phsical domination and aftercare will be covered. If time allows, you can try out your new skills during audience participation time!
You’re an Amazing F**k! …a Trans-positive Sex Forum
Presented by: Micah and Friends
Sunday, Session: 2, Room 240
A facilitated discussion open to anyone who identifies as trans, intersex, GenderQueer or gender non-conforming, and/or as a present or potential partner or lover of transfolk. This facilitated discussion will serve as an info share between all participants. We will cultivate a gentle and generous environment where we can ask and answer questions and share experiences about intimacy with trans partners. The focus of the discussion will be collectively guided by the participants, and all attendees will be strongly encouraged to engage in equal participation.
The Safe Space guidelines for this carefully facilitated workshop will include unconditional positive regard and an explicitly welcoming approach to trans+trans relationships, gender nonconformity, sex work/ers, body positivism, fat positivism, radical sex practices, survivors, non-monogamy and monogamy, casual sex, and celibacy.
Previous Schedules
If you want to see last some ideas from last year, why not look at the Sexy Spring III Schedule?
