By Peter Berton
OTTAWA, Canada – The snowbound city of Ottawa is about to feel the heat when the Sexapalooza consumer sex show hits town this week.
The show runs Feb. 7-9 at Ottawa’s new Convention Centre, just across the street from the country’s Parliament buildings. Spotlighting adult aids, sexy lifestyles and live demonstrations, Sexapalooza is a proven hit in Ottawa, which the show has visited a few times before.
Peterborough, Canada-based entrepreneur Liz Lewis owns and operates Sexapalooza, which also stages shows in Toronto and Montreal, as well as Columbus, Ohio.
YNOT.com: What treats do you have in store for staid old Ottawa this year?
Liz Lewis: Shade Nyx Theatre Macabre [a BDSM-themed entertainment troupe] is performing on the Main Stage this year. [Local adult store] Classixxx has sponsored the Dungeon, and Leyla Productions will have its beautiful calendar ladies at the show.
The lovely models of Toronto Bodypainting will be walking the show, and you can also spot our Huge Penis interacting with the crowd and having his photo taken. We have a great lineup of seminars this year, and our 32-page show guide is full of informative articles and sex tips.
This should be one of our best shows for our Ottawa fans.
What sort of turnout are you expecting for this weekend’s Ottawa show?
Attendance should be 12,000-15,000 over the weekend. If we get a snowstorm, that will affect numbers. However, it looks like a beautiful weekend, so we expect a busy show.
Are Canadians actually that interested in sex?
Eh? Canadians love sex!
How did Sexapalooza start, and how has it changed over the years?
The very first show was produced in Ottawa in January 2008. It was held in 20,000 square feet of exhibition space with an attendance of around 8,000 people. The Ottawa show this weekend is in more than double that space and will have roughly twice as many people through it.
Over the years, we have added features such as the Alley of Fantasy and the Sex Museum and doubled our number of exhibitors. Last year we added an amateur strip contest on Friday and Saturday nights, and that event was extremely popular.
What are the most popular aspects of your shows?
According to our exit surveys, the people who attend the show come for everything. Main-stage entertainment and shopping top the list, but the dungeon and the seminars are close behind. The Sex Museum can take more than a half hour to walk through if you are interested in the history of sex and unusual information about sexuality.
You’ve taken Sexapalooza into the U.S. with the Columbus, Ohio, show. Do you have plans to expand the list of cities in which the show runs?
Yes. We plan to expand into more U.S. cities in the future and are very excited at the prospect of taking Sexapalooza to more of our American neighbors.
